Ingredients
| ½ small red onion, thinly sliced | |
| 3 tablespoons olive oil | |
| 3 cloves garlic, peeled, roughly smashed | |
| a good handful mint leaves, shredded | |
| 2 x 400g cans borlotti beans | |
| 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar | |
| 250g green beans, asparagus or broccolini | |
| 1 ball burrata, torn (or use the tuna tonnato below) | |
| CHUNKY TONNATO WITH TUNA & EGG | |
| 2 eggs, room temperature | |
| 1 x 425g can tuna in oil (approximately 300g tuna) | |
| 4 anchovies | |
| 1 clove garlic | |
| 1 tablespoon lemon juice | |
| 2 tablespoons capers | |
| approx 50ml olive oil | |
| 2 tablespoons chopped parsley |
Canned beans can be a lifesaver for a quick turnaround meal and while I tend to cook beans from scratch, I always have a few cans to hand. A salad like this is brilliant as a side dish for lamb chops, but here I’ve topped it with torn burrata. You’ll notice that the photo also shows a tuna-and-egg-style tonnato that is halfway between a chunky spread and a mayo; it’s delicious to have on the side and any leftovers are brilliant smeared on toasted bread. The amount of vinegar here is dependent on the quality – a mellow rounded vinegar means you could use a little more, but if you are using a harsher vinegar, adjust to taste.
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Instructions
| 1. | Put the red onion in a small bowl of iced water with a good sprinkling of salt. |
| 2. | Allow to sit for 15 minutes, rubbing occasionally to soften. |
| 3. | Heat the olive oil in a pan over a low heat, add the garlic and cook very gently until lightly golden. |
| 4. | Add most of the mint and cook for a minute. |
| 5. | Drain the borlotti beans but reserve ½ cup of the liquid. |
| 6. | Add the borlotti beans and liquid to the pan and allow to warm through, then add the vinegar. |
| 7. | Turn off the heat and allow to infuse for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt. |
| 8. | Drain and pat dry the onion slices. |
| 9. | Blanch the greens in boiling, salted water until bite tender. |
| 10. | Put onto a platter, spoon over the borlotti beans, scatter over the onion and add the burrata and the remaining mint. |
| 11. | CHUNKY TONNATO WITH TUNA & EGG |
| 12. | Put the eggs in a pan of water, cover and gently bring up to a simmer. |
| 13. | Cook for 8 minutes, then plunge into cold water. Peel when cool enough to handle. |
| 14. | In a container suitable for a stick blender, put the eggs, the oil from the can, half the tuna, the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice and half the capers. |
| 15. | Blitz to a smooth paste, then slowly start adding the olive oil until the mix is creamy smooth and thick (you may not need all the oil). |
| 16. | Season with pepper, and adjust if you need more acid. |
| 17. | Stir through the remaining tuna, capers and the parsley. |
Recipes & food styling Ginny Grant / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Jessica Crowe