The famous five bean salad is a simple and nourishing dish that has been given a much-needed touch of class with the introduction of shallot and quail egg.
Ingredients
- 125g mung beans, soaked overnight
- 200g frozen broad beans
- 2 shallots, sliced
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 150g fine green beans
- 150g Romano beans or stringless green beans, sliced diagonally
- 410g can red kidney beans, rinsed
- 12 quails’ eggs, hard-boiled and halved (optional)
- Wheat tortilla, cut into wedges and browned on a griddle pan, to serve
- For the dressing
- 2 round shallots, finely chopped
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large mild green chill, deseeded and finely chopped
Method
- 1. Drain the mung beans and place in a pan of fresh cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, then add a little salt and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside until needed.
- 2. Boil the broad beans in salted water for 4-5 minutes until tender, then drain and plunge into cold water. Drain again, then remove and discard the tough white skins to reveal the bright green beans. Set aside.
- 3. Put the sliced shallots into a bowl with the lemon juice and set aside.
- 4. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Put the chopped shallot and lemon juice into a large salad bowl and leave for 10 minutes. Whisk the oil into the shallots, a little at a time, then stir in the chilli and a little sea salt to taste.
- 5. Add the mung and broad beans to the dressing and mix together.
- 6. Put the green and Romano beans into a pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 4 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Add to the salad with the kidney beans and mix.
- 7. Drain, rinse and dry the sliced shallots, then top the salad with the shallots and quails’ eggs, if using. Serve with the tortilla wedges.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 340cals, 14.8g fat (2.7g saturated), 18.9g protein, 35.3g carbs, 7.1g sugar, 1g salt