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When I threw a dinner party for all of my close school friends after I moved back from America last Summer, I made I adapted an Asian Style Butterbean Salad from the original Ottolenghi cookbook which turned out to be one of my favourite dishes of the entire meal, so much so that I felt it had to have a reprieve at the next dinner part I threw, this time for my Dad’s family on New Years Day. What I love about this salad is it is not only full of flavour, but it is so versatile. It has Asian flavourings, but in a way that it can be paired as part of a spread with so many other cuisines. And, as well as being a salad that everyone can have a little bit of (this way it serves about 6), it is also for serving 2 to 3 people for lunch, and would be great for a desk lunch.
70ml (2.5 oz) Sweet Chilli Sauce (dipping sauce is fine)
2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
3 tbsp Soy Sauce (I like Amoy Special Selection)
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 Red Peppers (Bell Peppers), chopped into squares
4 Spring Onions, white and green bits, chopped
1 Bunch Coriander (Cilantro), chopped
1 Bunch Fresh Mint, chopped
Sea Salt (I like French Breton Fleur de Sel)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Notes
Drain the beans into a sieve and rinse in cold water. Set aside to drain away any excess water.
Meanwhile, whisk together the garlic, chilli sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce and lemon juice, and set aside.
Add the peppers, spring onions and chopped herbs and drained beans to a large bowl and pour over the dressing. Toss together until everything is well coated, and season with sea salt and pepper to suit your personal tastes.
I just wanted to ask you guys, because I have another salad coming up on the blog in the next week or so, do you like these posts about dishes that you serve as part of a meal so you can play mix and match with the recipes, or do you prefer more of the posts I’ve been doing in the past which have a whole meal in the post, or would you prefer a mixture of both? I’d love to hear what you’d like to hear more of, either in the comments section or via email or Twitter.
I'm a food writer living in the English Countryside. Welcome to my online diary where I share easy, weeknight recipes, foodie travel diaries and some of the best places I've eaten out recently.
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One Pan Pescatarian: 100 Delicious Dinners – Veggie, Vegan, Fish
My second cookbook contains 100 delicious dinner recipes, all of which are either vegetarian, vegan or which celebrate fish and seafood - all cooked in either one pot or one pan.*
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