Welcome June! I love June, its one of the nicest months of the year. The gardens are at their best, bursting out all over with bloom on every bush. We tend to have more sunny days than rainy days, and our BBQ goes into over-use! Salad days. And this is a salad that we both really love!
Its great off-season as you can use frozen veg and they work perfectly well, and its great on-season when fresh veg is at their best. Not much fresh veg here, yet, but plenty of good frozen corn, peas and broadbeans.
All blanched quickly so they maintain all of their color and crisp freshness. I think broadbeans are what is called lima beans in North America. You will find them ever so much more palatable if you slip off the tough outer skins.
Its a bit of a faff, but so worth it, both in flavor and texture . . . not to mention colour! So brilliantly green! There is also a nice bit of fresh mint in the salad. Mine is going crazy at the moment. Oh, I do love fresh mint! It shines in this lovely salad.
Just look at all of those beautiful colours! The dressing is a delicious one . . . flavoured with white balsamic, lemon and Dijon mustard with a smattering of garlic and some shallots.
Altogether this is a very fine salad indeed.
*Bean, Corn and Couscous Salad*Serves 6
Printable Recipe
Quite simply a delicious salad of corn, beans, broad beans, peas and Israeli couscous with a fresh Mint Vinaigrette Dressing!
For the salad:115g of Israeli Couscous, uncooked (2/3 cup)1/2 pound green haricot beans, trimmed cut into 2 inch pieces150g of frozen petit pois (1 cup)150g of frozen broad beans( 1 cup)145g of frozen sweet corn (1 cup)3 TBS chopped fresh mintsalt and black pepperRocket to serve (optional)For the dressing:60ml extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup)2 TBS fresh lemon juice2 TBS white balsamic vinegar1 shallot, peeled and minced1 small clove of garlic, peeled and crushed1 tsp Dijon mustard
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. blanch the beans, peas, broad beans and corn for two minutes. Drain well. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Slip the tough outer skin from the broad beans discard. (If you have chickens, give the skins to them. They love them!)
Place into a salad bowl. Cook the couscous according to the package directions. Drain well, rinse with cold water and drain again. Tip into the bowl with the vegetables. Toss in the mint and salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour this dressing over the salad, Toss to coat. (You may not need it all).
Spoon the salad out onto fresh rocket leaves to serve. (optional)
Bon Appetit!