Broad Bean and Lentil Salad

After an awfully long time with no computer courtesy of some ruddy thieves, I am finally managing to publish a post! Thank you all for bearing with me and continuing to read and reference oh so buttery, hope to make up for some seriously lost time! So much to share about travelling and culinary discoveries, I feel I've had a whole lifetime since I last wrote. First, something super easy and delicious...

Summer has finally arrived and London is sweltering, basking in thirty degree heat with no clouds in sight. Almost can't believe it, truly spectacular... picnics at every opportunity!

With this glorious weather comes the most beautiful produce, grown here in abundance. Broad beans are just such a lovely variety of the beans out there. Fat and succulent emerald jewels resting in large puffy pods. They are incredibly versatile, can be added to pastas, salads, made into purees, the list goes on. Here is a salad I make frequently in which any ingredient can be substituted depending on seasonal availability. The basics are always brown lentils, onion of some kind, coriander, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Recently I discovered the joys of adding dried cranberries and radishes. In this version I've used fiery radish sprouts, use regular salad radishes if you can't get your hands on these little babes. Make a large bowl and allow to develop in the fridge for a few hours before eating. It keeps well and gets more delicious over time.

Recipe 

100g brown lentils

60g quinoa, plain or mixed colours

3 spring onions, finely sliced

handful radish sprouts or 6/7 salad radishes quartered

handful dried cranberries or sour cherries or a bit of both

good bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

100g fresh broad beans, podded

juice of 1-2 lemons

lots of olive oil

salt and pepper

small red chilli, finely chopped

Boil lentils and quinoa in plenty of water separately until tender but not mushy, drain and rinse in plenty of cold water. Boil broad beans for about 5 minutes and then plunge into cold water to stop them cooking any further. Remove the skins as these are usually very tough, just tear the skin and pop the bean out. Put all the ingredients into a big bowl and mix together thoroughly, season with salt, pepper and add as much lemon juice and olive oil to suit your taste. The salad should be glossy and have a good balance of flavors. Add more of any ingredient if you feel there isn't enough.