Italian spring bean salad
With fresh basil, radicchio & Parmesan rinds
I like to keep leftover cheese rinds in the fridge until I have enough
to make a big batch of this broth (about half a pound).
This salad also works well as a light soup: just add more broth
until it’s a consistency you like.
Serves: 6 Prep.: 1 hour + cooling Difficulty: Not too tricky
Calories: 328 Fat: 20.5g Saturates: 4.9g Sugars: 2.2g Salt: 0.6g Protein: 13.5g Carbs: 21.8g Fibre: 7.3g
INGREDIENTS
| 1 stick | of cleery (60g) |
|---|---|
| 1/2 | carrot (60g) |
| 120 g | radicchio |
| 10 g | fresh basil |
| 1 1/2 x 400 g | tin of beans, such as borlotti or kidney |
| 1 tablespoon | chopped onion |
| 130 ml | extra virgin olive oil |
| 80 ml | white wine vinegar |
| 75 g | Parmesan rinds, (about 3) |
| 100 g | stale bread |
INSTRUCTION
- Trim the celery, peel and trim the carrot, then cut, along with the radicchio, into 5mm cubes. Pick and finely chop the basil leaves.
- Drain and rinse the beans and place in a bowl (save the remainder for another dish) with the radicchio, celery, carrot, onion and basil. Stir in the olive oil and vinegar, then season and leave to rest for 2 hours at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, place the Parmesan rinds in a pot with 1.5 litres of cold water and cook slowly over a low–medium for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and leave the rinds in the water to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
- Cut the bread into 1cm cubes, scatter over a baking tray and toast in the oven until golden, about 20 minutes, tossing halfway through.
- Divide the bean mixture between plates, then add a few tablespoons of the cooled parmesan broth. Garnish with croutons and the Parmesan rinds, finely sliced with a speed-peeler, if you like