Edamame beans and I did not get off to the happiest of starts. A few years ago, when I was working as a chef in a well known London restaurant, every so often a certain celebrity (and friend of the chef proprietor) would come in and order edamame. No huge drama you might think, but given that they weren't actually on the menu and that she liked her soy beans pre-podded and in quite large quantities, the task was an irksome one, which had to be completed at speed. These days though, a shared bowl of edamame beans is one of my favourite ways to start a meal- they are super healthy, packed with protein and dipped into soy sauce with a smudge of wasabi (purists look away), are really, really tasty. I much prefer to buy the beans whole, rather than ready podded, so was thrilled to see the packet above in the freezer section of my local Spinneys the other day. Cooked for 2-3 minutes in plenty of rapidly boiling, salted water and served with a soy dipping sauce on the side, they make a great snack.