Search
Food corner

"Cooking, in effect, took part of the work of chewing and digestion and performed it for us outside of the body, using outside sources of energy. Also, since cooking detoxifies many potential sources of food, the new technology cracked open a treasure trove of calories unavailable to other animals. Freed from the necessity of spending our days gathering large quantities of raw food and then chewing (and chewing) it, humans could now devote their time, and their metabolic resources, to other purposes, like creating a culture."

Michael Pollan

Twitter feed
Tags
Aleppo pepper Alicante all spice almond anchovy apple apricot Argentina artichokes asparagus aubergine autumn avocado bacon banana Bangkok barbecue basil bay leaf beef beetroot bergamot berry biscuit bistro bloggers blue cheese Bolivia Borough Market bread breadcrumbs British budget budwig diet Buenos Aires buffalo sauce bulgar wheat burrata butter cabbage cafe cake Calais Cantonese capers caramel caraway cardamom carrot cauliflower champagne chard cheddar cheese chicken chickpeas chicory chilli chocolate chorizo Christmas chutney cinnamon clams cloves cobnut cocoa coconut cooking class Copenhagen cordial Córdoba coriander cornflakes Corsica cottage cheese courgette courgette flowers crayfish cream cream cheese creme fraiche cucumber culinary catastrophe cumin currants curry daikon Dalmatia dates delivery dessert dill dips dough Dubrovnik duck Easter easy Edinburgh egg eggplant elderflower falafel fennel festive feta fettuccine ffine bean fflour Filipino filo fine dining Finsbury Park fish fish sauce five spice flour food aid food anthropology food tour French game garlic gastropub gherkin ginger gluten free goat's cheese goat's curd golden syrup green tomatoes greengage Guinness halloumi ham Hanoi harissa hazelnut hibiscus Hoi An hominy honey horseradish humanitarian relief Indian Islington Istanbul Italian jam Japanese juniper Kent ketchup ketjap manis kielbasa kinilaw Korean lamb langoustine leek lemon lemongrass lentils lime linseed llime lobster London loquat Madrid market mascarpone Mayfair Mendoza Mexican mid-range milk mint mirin mixed peel mixed spice monk's beard morcilla mozzarella mushroom mussels mustard mustard seed Nahm Natoora Nepalese New Nordic New Year's Day New Zealand noras nose-to-tail NYC oats olive olive oil onion orange Oxfordshire oxtail paprika Paris Parmesan parsley party pastry peanut pear peas pepper Peru Philippines pickle pine nuts pineapple pistachio pizza plum pomegranate pomegranate molasses pop-ups pork Porto Vecchio potato prawn preserved lemon prosciutto Provence providore prunes Puerto Iguazú pulse pumpkin purple sprouting broccoli quail egg quick radish ragu raisins ramen ras el hanout raspberries red pepper paste red wine refugees restaurant rhubarb ribs rice ricotta rocket rosemary runner bean saffron sage San Sebastian sauces sausage scallops seafood seasonal shallot short and sweet shrimp paste slow-cooked smoked mackerel smoked salmon sorrel souffle soy spaghetti spinach spring squid ssauces St Basil's Day stilton stock street food sugar sumac summer supper club Sydney syrup Tabasco tagliatelle tahini take away tamarind tarragon tart Thai thyme toffee tom yum paste tomato tomato paste tortilla tray bake tuna Turkey veal vegetarian versatile Vietnam Vietnamese vinegar walnut water chestnut white pepper wine wings winter yoghurt yum cha
« Ones to watch | Main | Pickled radishes »
Wednesday
Jun032015

Spring bean salad

This is one of my favourite salads. I make it, or a version of it, on a regular basis as a side with fish or chicken dishes or as part of an Ottolenghi-style spread that I like to do for BBQs and big dinner parties. 

Since I started working at Natoora I have played around with the ingredients a bit. I used to always make it with green beans and mange tout, which are great and easy to source. However, Natoora focuses on seasonal ingredients so I have swapped out the mange tout for white and green piattoni (Italian runner beans). They are sweet and tender and they look gorgeous.

One of my colleagues suggested I use almonds in place of hazelnuts for my cooking demo a few weeks ago since they are just coming into season. The flaked almonds look pretty, but I like the taste of the crushed hazelnuts better. 

I sometimes make the dressing the night before to give the lemon zest and chilli a chance to infuse the oil. This dressing also works really well as a marinade or tossed through a seafood pasta with some fresh herbs.

Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a light lunch. 

Ingredients

Dressing

1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
90ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 mild red chilli, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Salad

250g green fine beans
200g runner beans (white and green, if available)
50g hazelnuts, finely chopped or crushed
Small bunch tarragon, finely chopped.

Method

To make the dressing add the lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of the juice to a bowl, along with the olive oil, mustard and a little of the chilli. Season with salt and pepper, mix well and taste. Adjust with any of the above ingredients as necessary; be careful with the chilli though, you just want a little kick.

To make the salad wash and trim the green fine beans and runner beans. Cut the runner beans in half and then into strips, lengthways. Boil or steam the green beans until al dente, not soft; this should only take a minute if boiling or a few minutes if steaming. Refresh under cold water. Do the same with the runner beans.

In a large bowl, toss the beans with the dressing, tarragon and half of the hazelnuts. Season further with salt and pepper if necessary. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the remaining hazelnuts.

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (3)

YUM! and how good is that photo!? The colours are wonderful. Annnnnddddd yay for jobs with foodie perks ;P

June 6, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterCharlie Brown

This looks so great I am going to try it while we are in Spain, and will send feedback!

July 10, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterMa

Hi Cha, thanks - yes the pics came out quite well. Good natural light that day :-)

Hi Ma, how did it go? Did you get a chance to make it? :-)

August 26, 2015 | Registered CommenterVix

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>