Broad bean paté

Here's a broad bean paté I made today. K's mum and auntie came for a short visit to check out the baby girl, and I wanted something savoury to nibble (there was a cake as well, of course). I had boiled 500 grams of broad beans yesterday in order to make Egyptian falafels following a recipe by Claudia Roden, but I decided to 'steal' some of the beans and try out a broad bean paté instead. The result was really lovely. Both K's mum and auntie guessed it was made with chicken livers instead - before wolfing down another thin crisp bread spread with this lovely paté.

PS I used unpeeled dried broad beans and didn't peel them after soaking or boiling either.

Broad Bean Paté
( Põldoapasteet )Makes about a cup

a cup of boiled broad beans, drained thoroughly*
2 Tbsp concentrated tomati paste/tomato purée
2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
a squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For garnish:
fresh basil

Blend the first five ingredients in a bowl with a hand-held blender into a smooth paste. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Garnish with a fresh basil leave and serve.

* To boil dried broad beans/fava beans: soak them in cold water for 12-24 hours, then rinse and drain. Place in a saucepan with fresh cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, then simmer on a low heat until soft, but not mushy (about 40 minutes or longer, depending on the age of the beans etc). Do not add salt until the end, as this may extend the cooking period. 

You need about 1/2 cup of dried beans for this amount of broad bean paté.