warm runner bean salad with fennel, apple and walnut dressing
We made lots of salads, including this one, for the Plymouth Flavour Fest. Big mistake – we should have been serving pork in a bun. Certain members of the public appreciated this salad and we now serve it regularly in the Field Kitchen.
Ingredients
- 100g walnuts
- 1 teaspoon walnut oil
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- 300g runner beans, sliced on the diagonal into 1–2cm lengths
- 2 apples, cored and cut into 1cm dice
- 1 fennel bulb, very finely shaved (a mandolin is good for this)
- For the walnut dressing:
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 3 tablespoons good-quality red wine vinegar
- 100ml sunflower oil
- 1 tablespoon walnut oil
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Method
- Mix the walnuts with the walnut oil, cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt and spread them out on a baking sheet. Place in an oven preheated to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and roast for 5 minutes, until lightly toasted. Remove and leave to cool.
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and season to taste. Lightly crush half the walnuts and add them to the dressing.
- Cook the runner beans in a pan of boiling salted water for about 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain and toss with the apples, fennel, walnut dressing and the remaining walnuts. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Leave to sit for a white before serving, so the runner beans can absorb the flavours.
