Green Beans with Olives, Preserved Lemon and Mint

Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS

Salad
600 grams flat green beans, stalk end removed
500 gram packet frozen broad beans
½ red onion, thinly sliced
½ preserved lemon
2 hard boiled eggs
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
½ cup black or green olives, pitted and roughly chopped

Dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon good red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons shredded mint

METHOD

Salad: Blanch the beans in a pot of well-salted boiling water until done to your liking. Use tongs to plunge them into a bowl of iced water. Lift out, drain and pat dry. Add the broad beans to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain, refresh in the iced water and peel off the tough outer skin.

Soak the onion in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze dry in a tea towel. Scrape the flesh from the lemon and discard, then thinly slice the rind. Roughly chop the eggs.

Dressing: Blend the ingredients in a small food processor and season to taste.

To serve: Toss the beans with a little of the dressing and place on a wide serving platter. Combine the onion, lemon, celery and the olives in a bowl and toss with the remaining dressing. Spoon half over the beans, top with the chopped eggs then the remaining olive mixture.

Menu: Serve with the Grilled Octopus and Greek Salad with Pide, Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Pecorino and Herbs and the Baklava Tarts with Grilled Plums to finish.