Winter salad

Who said salads are boring? I get creative when making them and I have fun mixing all sorts of things I have in my cupboard to make extravagant vinaigrettes!

This salad may look and sound fancy (and in fact, it is) but it’s made with very basic ingredients and with less than £1 you have a nourishing winter meal.

I love to make it in summer with fresh, juicy peaches - I think peaches’ sweet flavour matches way better than apples. But hey, it’s winter and you know I love to buy seasonal and local… If you like it on the sweeter end, one option is to replace the apples with pears.

INGREDIENTS:

150g/200g frozen green beans

70g/100g cooked butter beans

½ apple

Crushed nuts for topping (optional)

INGREDIENTS for the vinaigrette:

½ lemon, juiced

4 tbsp olive oil

A pinch of salt

A pinch of garlic powder

A pinch of black pepper

½ tsp dry thyme

1 tsp fresh parsley

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add salt to taste. When it’s boiling, throw in the frozen green beans and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl with ice-cold water.

Whilst the beans are cooling down, slice the apple into wedges and char them in a frying pan until brown spots appear on both sides.

Prepare the vinaigrette by placing all the ingredients in a jar and shaking until combined.

Plate up your salad: lay the green beans at the bottom, then the butter beans and the apple wedges to finish. Season with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with crushed nuts or seeds.