Autumn Salad with Beans & Olives
Introduction
This makes a great autumn salad. For a lunch option, bulk it up with tuna and crusty croûtons.
Serves: 6
Ingredients
400g (14 oz) mixed salad leaves (cos lettuce, rocket, mesclun, etc.)
3 x size 6 (medium) free-range eggs, at room temperature
150g (5 oz) slim green beans, trimmed
150g (5 oz) cherry tomatoes
1 cup Sicilian green olives, or Spanish Queen green olives, drained
1 cup small basil leaves
400g (14 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed and drained
Dressing
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1½ Tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar
1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp finely chopped shallot
Optional extras
300g (10 z) canned tuna in olive oil, drained
Garlic croûtons
2 Tbsp softened butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 slices toast-thickness Vogels original bread
Sea salt
Method
1 Trim the salad greens, wash and dry. Transfer to a plastic bag lined with paper towels and refrigerate until required.
2 Hard-boil the eggs, keeping the yolks soft (allow 7 minutes of gentle boiling for size 6 eggs at room temperature). Drain, then run cold water over them for several minutes before peeling. Plunge green beans into a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes (longer if the beans are mature). Drain, then rinse with plenty of cold water and pat dry with paper towels. The beans can be cut in half to make them easier to serve.
3 In a large bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and set aside.
4 Halve the cherry tomatoes. Tear the greens into bite-sized pieces. Add the olives, basil leaves, white beans, green beans, cherry tomatoes and croûtons to the bowl of dressing. Gently toss the salad. Halve the eggs and arrange them on top of the salad. Toss gently. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
If including the optional extras, add the tuna to the salad along with the eggs.
To make the croûtons, mix butter and garlic in a small bowl. Spread it over the bread on one side, then cut into large croûtons. Heat a non-stick pan and cook the croûtons with the buttered side down, then turn and cook the other side. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with sea salt. Keep at room temperature, but don’t cover. Toss with salad ingredients.