Salads

Purple bean, pear & squash salad with fragrant basil and carrot top dressing.

Our jack and the beanstalk plants have been a striking addition to the vegetable plot, happily producing a great crop of purple beans for the last few weeks, great for freezing for the Autumn. Decided to put them into a salad along with squash, carrots, and pears. They will lose their colour shortly after cooking but still make for an appealing mix.

I have cut the vegetables in a variety of ways for visual, as well as adding different textures, then simply finished the dish of with some basil and carrot top🥕 dressing, if it is at all edible, its going to be put to good use.

Image, Pear tree, sunny day in the garden. — Our sole pear tree, never fails to produce a decent crop.

Finally I finished it with some pan toasted seeds, nut, and maple syrup to create a crunchy texture to sprinkle on top.

Maybe not everyone’s favourite bean, still worth while having it in different ways, even a simple roasting in the oven with garlic, olive oil a little butter and slices of lemon, to serve alongside a roast dinner or maybe a poached egg on top as I would do with asparagus for a late breakfast or lunch dish.

However, you like to have your beans, I hope this recipes aids in inspiring you to your own creations.

Purple bean, pear & squash salad with fragrant basil and carrot top dressing.

Image, purple bean plant in vegetable garden — Purple bean plant in vegetable garden

Image, just picked purple beans, and carrots, soil, wooden box — Just picked from the garden purple beans, and carrots

Image, Purple beans, Patty pan squash, carrots and pears from the garden

Ingredients for the salad- just some of the produce for this easy salad. This way all the ingredients can be picked fresh, still firm and crisp.

Otherwise head to your local farmers market for the freshest of products.

Purple bean, pear & squash salad with fragrant basil and carrot top dressing.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 30mins
Cook Time: 2-3min
Difficulty: easy
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Using up some of the end of summer produce, we created this salad recipe to serve alongside a main course, would be substantial on its own with a good chewy slice of sourdough or crunchy French stick.

Ingredients

360g Purple or green beans, trimmed and cut into 1½cm-2cm pieces
2 x medium patty pan squash-spiralized
2 x medium carrots, various colours, if possible, scrubbed topped & tailed,
2 x medium conference pears, slightly firm and crisp
1 x Clove garlic finely chopped
1x Tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper

Directions

Place the spiralized squash on a large serving plate
Using the vegetable peeler and one of the carrots, shave ribbons of the carrot by placing it on a chopping board and running the peeler along the carrot to create ribbons. With the other carrot cut into julienne (matchsticks). Start with the prepped carrot cut into 2½cm lengths crosswise, trim a little off one edge to create a little bit of stability, lay the carrot on this flat edge, slice lengthwise, layer the carrots and cut lengthwise again in to thin sticks.
For the pears, cut into quarters, remove the core, and thinly slice the quarters. With the other pear, using a vegetable peeler, shave into ribbons.
To Finish, sauté the beans in olive oil over a medium heat along with the garlic until just tender 2-3 minutes, season with a grind of salt and pepper, stir through the pear slices and sauté for further minute.
To assemble the salad layer up the spiralized squash with the carrot, pear ribbons and carrot matchsticks, spoon over the sauteed beans and pear and gently toss through, using tongs.
Dot with some of the dressing and maple toasted seeds & nuts, serving the rest as extras on the side.

Toasted maple seed & nut crunch

25g Whole almonds, skin on
20g Chopped pistachio nuts
15g Sunflower seeds
15g Pumpkin seeds
1 x Tablespoon maple syrup

Directions

Toast the nuts and seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat until starting to colour, drizzle in the maple syrup and quickly toss together so that the nuts and seeds are evenly coated.
Leave to cool and firm up into a crunchy texture.

Basil & carrot top dressing

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10mins
Cook Time: 0
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

4 x Tablespoon rapeseed or sunflower oil
2 x Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 x Tablespoon soy sauce
1 x Tablespoon maple syrup
1 x Tablespoon freshly chopped ginger
Small bunch finely shredded basil, approx. 4g
Small bunch carrot tops, woody bits removed, chop the rest, approx. 4g

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, leave for 15 minutes for the flavours to develop.

Image frying Pan with seed's and nuts for toasting. — Pan with seed’s and nuts for toasting

Image, Toasted seeds and nuts drizzled with maple syrup to in frying pan — Pan with seed’s and nuts for toasting

Charred squash, griddled nectarines, greens, a splash of colour, with miso & sesame dressing

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 20mins
Cook Time: 25-35mins
Difficulty: easy
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Substantial enough on its own, or would be a great side, if you were having a barbecue with steaks or fish.

Ingredients

Half a butternut squash (top half) cut into wedges.
2 x Bay-leaves.
Few springs thyme.
Half a thumb size of ginger peeled & sliced.
2 x cloves of garlic slightly crushed, leave the skin on.
2 x Shallots cut in half.
2 x Tbsp olive oil.
Good grind of salt.

Toss all the ingredients together, cover with some wet parchment and roast in the oven 200c/gas-6 for approx. 25 minutes or until slightly tender.

Ingredients

225g baby gem leaves washed and split in two. About two medium heads.
220g Piccolo cherry tomatoes. These are a great variety, super sweet, perfect for salads.
2 x Nectarines, slightly under ripe.
½ x Pomegranate, seeds removed.
1 x Avocado sliced.
Large slice of feta cheese which you can briefly char on the griddle, then leave to sit with some sprigs of thyme, good drizzle of olive oil and honey.

Directions

While the squash is roasting, set a griddle pan on a medium to high heat, spray with a little oil and char the nectarines until lightly soft. I brushed mine with a little honey as the were a little bitter, but you may not have to do this if your nectarines are at the perfect stage. Set aside.
Continue to griddle the tomatoes, then set aside.
When the squash is ready, remove from the oven and set aside the ginger, garlic & shallots which will form part of the dressing.
To finish the squash, lightly char on the griddle pan to give a little extra smoky flavour.
To Assemble-Layer up the baby gem, piccolo tomatoes, nectarines, avocado slices and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds, zest and a little drizzle of the dressing to finish.
Serve the charred squash & feta on the side with the rest of the dressing & your favourite chewy crusty bread

Try your favourite cheese, maybe a goat, or a blue, but definitely use thyme, it will bring an aromatic Mediterranean warmth to the cheese along with the fruity olive oil & honey to balance out some of the saltiness.

Miso & sesame dressing

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15mins
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Ingredients

1 x Tbsp Miso paste.
Juice and zest of 1 lime.
Ginger, shallots & garlic, skin removed (These are from the squash that you roasted)
2 x Tbsp sesame oil.
1 x Tbsp olive oil
2 x Tbsp honey.
1 x Tbsp cider vinegar.

Pop all the ingredients in a blender, whizz until smooth & emulsified.