Healthy Eats

I've not posted any of my favourite recipes for a while - so here's one for a tasty Bean Salad which I make regularly.

Now this dish is inexpensive, nutritious and really good for you into the bargain - what more could you ask for in these hard pressed times?

Ingredients
2 or 3 cans of mixed beans - canellini, pinto, butter, black-eyed and garbanzo beans (or chickpeas) are all good
4 or 5 nice salad tomatoes - roughly chopped
A small handful of cherry tomatoes - quartered
1 cucumber - peeled and roughly diced
1 yellow, red or green pepper - diced
1 large red onion - finely diced
2 or 3 gherkins - finely diced
1 teaspoon of Dijon or other French mustard
2 to 3 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar
1 big handful of fresh parsley, basil, coriander or mint - or any combination - chopped
Salt and plenty of pepper to taste

Method
Drain, rinse and mix the the beans together with all the chopped ingredients - in a large bowl

Add the oil, vinegar, mustard, fresh herbs and seasoning - stir well and allow the flavours to develop for at least 30 minutes - preferably in the fridge

Mix and again and adjust the seasoning - adding a little more oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper - as necessary

Present the salad in a nice serving bowl - accompanied by some nice bread to mop up the juices and wash down with a nice glass of wine

You can also add any other ingredients that your particularly like - I sometimes add a little chopped beetroot, a stick of celery, a carrot, some green or black olives and even fresh pomegranate seeds.