SPRING SALAD OF BROAD BEANS & PEAS
If you prefer, you can double-pod the broad beans (that is, remove the skins from the beans after podding them).
This vibrant salad is full of texture and flavour. You could serve it as a side, or add some sliced cooked chicken breast or hot-smoked salmon for a complete meal. It’s a great spring or early summer salad – simple to make, fresh and full of herbs, which makes everything better.
This vegetarian dish serves 4 as a side.
Ingredients
• 80g naked or pearl barley • ½ teaspoon salt • 200g broad beans, fresh or frozen • 100g baby peas (petits pois)
• 2 baby cos lettuce, leaves washed and drained • ½ preserved lemon, skin only, finely sliced • generous pinch of dried mint
• 10 fresh mint leaves, roughly torn • 8 basil leaves, roughly shredded • 60g soft goat’s cheese (chèvre) • small handful of baby pea shoots (or micro pea shoots) • 50g lightly roasted blanched almonds, roughly chopped • juice of ½ lemon • good-quality extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling • flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• white or blue borage flowers (optional)
Place the barley in a bowl,
cover with cold water and leave to soak for at least 3 hours or overnight. Tip into a sieve, rinse, drain and transfer to a medium-sized saucepan. Add enough water to cover by about 7cm. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer gently, covered, for about 30 minutes, until tender but still with a little bite – it should be chewy and slightly nutty. When it is cooked, tip it into a colander to drain, and refresh under cold running water. Drain again and transfer to a bowl.
Bring a second pan of water, about half-full, to the boil. Add the salt, throw in the beans and simmer for 1 minute. Now throw in the peas, bring back to the boil and simmer for 30 seconds more. Immediately tip everything into a colander and rinse under cold running water. You don’t want to overcook the beans and peas – they should be still vibrant and fresh.
To assemble the salad, place the cos lettuce leaves on a serving platter, scatter over the peas and beans, the cooked barley, the preserved lemon, and the dried and fresh herbs. Crumble over the chèvre. Scatter with the pea shoots and roasted chopped almonds, and then drizzle over some lemon juice and olive oil.
Season with a scattering of flaky sea salt and black pepper. Scatter over some white or blue borage flowers if you wish.