This is an Asian-inspired salad made from a mix of the best vegetables that spring has to offer. The beans and peas only need a couple of minutes in boiling water to soften them up slightly - you still want to keep that crunch. The vivid green colours are a dazzling celebration of spring.
- 100g/3½ oz shelled fresh peas
- 100g/3½ oz fine green beans
- 100g/3½ oz runner (string) beans
- 100g/3½ oz shelled broad (fava) beans
- 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 50g/1¾ oz/ ¹⁄3 cup hazelnuts, roughly crushed
Serves 4
For every 100g/3½ oz fresh peas you will need about 300g/10½ oz peas in the pod - the same applies for the broad beans, if you're using fresh - look to buy three times in weight as what you expect to use, to avoid any shortfall.
Top and tail the green beans and runner beans. Using a vegetable peeler or a sharp paring knife, remove the fibrous edges of the runner beans from top to bottom.
Blanch the broad beans in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then remove and cool under cold water. Pop the beans from their cases and set aside. Cut the runner beans widthways quite thinly - no more than 5mm/¼ in. Chop the green beans in half.
Blanch the peas, green beans and runner beans together in a pan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, whisk the soy sauce, lemon juice and sesame oil together in a large bowl. Add the peas, beans and hazelnuts to the bowl, mix well and serve.
This dish can also be served cold - just refresh all the cooked ingredients in cold water before re-draining.
Recipes and images from Savage Salads: Fierce Flavours, Filling Power-Ups by Davide Del Gatto & Kristina Gustafsson, photography by Kim Lightbody. Published by Frances Lincoln (£16.99).
More information on the book can be found at www.quartosalads.com