Summer Bean Salad with Umami Dressing

Method

1. Warm the olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan until you begin to smell the garlic (the idea is to infuse the oil rather than fry the garlic).
2. Remove the garlic, chop finely and spoon into a jar with a tightly fitting lid. Add the oil along with the remaining dressing ingredients, shake to bring everything together. Taste, you may like to tinker around with the balance, add a little salt if you like but the Umami paste brings so much salty, savoury depth that I doubt you will need it.
3. Warm the pulses in their cooking juices or any liquid from the tin, drain and then pour over the umami dressing. The warmed pulses will sup up the flavours beautifully.
4. Now blanch or steam your green veg’, just until tender and then plunge into cold water to keep the vibrant colour. If you are using frozen peas or beans they will need less than a minute in boiling water from frozen
5. It really is worth double-podding your broad beans to reveal the dazzlingly bright, sweet flesh within.
6. Chop the mint and parsley roughly.
7. Mix the greens carefully with the dressed beans and herbs (keeping a few leaves back to garnish the salad with just before serving)
8. And of course………… you could add sun blush tomatoes, radishes, asparagus, new potatoes, quinoa, pearled spelt or any other bits you feel like.