This Minty Broad Bean Salad is such a good way to use fresh broad beans. Today I picked the first ones of the season and, as there are lots of new leaves on the mint, it seemed a good idea to make this salad. The larger beans have a tough outer skin which has to be removed and that can take a while but is definitely worth it. Alternatively, use very young beans as the skin isn’t bitter, although the beans are not as tasty. I have previously made this with cherry tomatoes, but the saltiness of the tomatoes is so much better. The nuts add some crunch to the dish, but you could leave them out. As with all salads, they are easy to adapt, so experiment with whatever you have.
Minty Broad Bean Salad
If you are using young and small broad beans you do not need to peel them. The larger ones have tough and slightly bitter skins which will have to be removed. It is easy but does take a while. This salad is lovely served as a side dish or a light lunch if you add some crusty bread
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 2 cups Podded beans
- 1 cup Fresh mint chopped finely
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 Red onion, chopped finely
- 5-6 Sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1/4 cup Almonds, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup Plain yoghurt
- Black pepper and salt to taste
Instructions
- Blanch the beans (in the pods) in un-salted boiling water, or in a steamer, for 3-4 minutes
- Allow to cool down so you can handle them. The pods will open easily and you can slide the beans out
- If the beans are large, the outer skin will be tough. Break the skin slightly and squeeze the bright green bean out. (If they are small, you can skip this step)
- Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, half the mint, the sun-dried tomatoes and the beans and leave to stand while you do the crumbs
- Fry the onion in the butter until soft, but not brown.
- Add the breadcrumbs and continue to cook until they start to turn golden.
- Stir the yoghurt, the almonds and the remainder of the mint into the beans
- Stir the crumbs through the salad just as you are ready to serve it