Two Bean and Crisp Flatbread Salad with Soft Eggs

, from Issue #101. January, 2022
Photography by Josh Griggs.
Two Bean and Crisp Flatbread Salad with Soft Eggs

Shards of crisp bread, creamy white beans and a perky preserved lemon dressing make a light but substantial salad.

Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

2 x 20cm Lebanese flatbreads
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
250 grams slim green beans, stem end trimmed
sea salt

Dressing
1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon skin, flesh discarded
4 tablespoons olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon runny honey
½ teaspoon sea salt

TO SERVE
2 handfuls watercress or rocket
400-gram tin cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 baby cucumbers or 1 small telegraph cucumber, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
4 boiled eggs, cut into quarters
small handful basil leaves

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.

Brush both sides of the bread with butter and place on a flat baking tray. Bake for about 10 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and when hot, add the beans. Cook for about 4 minutes, turning often, until lightly blistered in patches. Season with salt and set aside to cool.

Dressing: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.

To serve: Break the crisp flatbreads into large pieces. Layer up the watercress, green and white beans, cucumber, onion, eggs and basil on a large platter, tucking in some of the bread. Drizzle over the dressing. Serve the remaining bread separately.

Cook’s note: The baked bread will stay crisp for 2-3 days in an airtight container.