How to prepare kapucijners

Start by shelling kapucijners

If you have grown your own kapucijners (or bought them fresh) then the first stage will be to shell them.

It can take a bit of time and you might end up with purple fingers – but the effort will be worth it!

If you’ve never shelled peas before then the video below will show you exactly what to do.  (it is in Dutch but very easy to follow)

Eat kapucijners the same day you shell them, as they will taste at their best.  If you can’t eat them the same day there are 2 options :

1. Keep them in a dark place – and they will last a day or 2, they will get slightly less sweet but still taste ok.
2. Freeze them – or alternatively you can freeze them (shelled and uncooked) and then simply add them frozen to boiling water for a few minutes, in the same way as frozen peas

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How to prepare kapucijners

Cooking Kapucijners

There is a difference between the young (fresh) kapucijners you will have grown and the ‘tinned’ ones available in shops.  It is exactly the same kapucijner – the only difference is that the ‘brown’ ones you see in shops will have been dried on the plant,  and then harvested (hence the brown colour)

Fresh or Young kapucijners are the same as fresh vegetables but you should never eat them raw.  They are poisonous and need to be cooked before eating – which neutralises the poison.

2 steps in how to prepare kapucijners

• Simply shell them as above
• And then cook them for about 10 minutes

For 200 g kooked kapucijners you will need about 500 to 700 g shells.

Basic kapucijner recipe

You will need kapucijners,  salt and butter.

Put the shelled kapucijners in a pan and add water until the kapucijners begin to float and sprinkle with salt.

Bring to the boil and simmer until they are ready – which will be about 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and add butter and gently shake. Tastes great with crispy bacon lardons. (We used to cook/fry the bacon bits at a very low heat for 1 hour to make them really crispy..)

More complicated

The video below shows more complicated (and very popular recipe) called the Captain’s Dinner.

To cook the recipe you will need :

• 400 g kapucijners
• 250 g lean smoked bacon lardons
• 2 sliced onions
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large smoked sausage
• For condiments items like Vinegar, mustard, pickles, salad onion, cucumber…

Into Dutch food ?

Ok maybe it’s not as well know as French. Italian, etc.

However specialised Dutch meals are absolutely delicious, such as Bitterballen, Hutspot, Lekkerbekjes, etc.

Available from Amazon the Dutch recipes cookbook will show you ‘step by step’ how to make them.

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Now you know how to prepare kapucijners that one of the key advantages of kapucijners are that you can use them the same way as most beans (in salads, soups, etc), eat them on their own (ideally with a bit of bacon) or add them in recipes

More information

How to grow kapucijners

Where to buy kapucijner seeds