A fresh, green-tasting salad for a hot day. If mozzarella isn’t your sort of thing, you could use feta instead. A dish of thinly sliced tomatoes with olive oil and black pepper would be good alongside.
 
Serves 2
french beans – 150g
broad beans – 750g (approx. 300g shelled weight)
 
for the dressing:
basil leaves – about 20 large
white wine vinegar – 1 tablespoon
extra virgin olive oil – 3 tablespoons
garlic – a small clove
 
a large ball of buffalo mozzarella
 
Top and tail the green beans and cook them in salted boiling water for 3-4
minutes till tender, then drain them and rinse under cold, running water.
They should retain some crunch.

 

Pod the broad beans and boil them for 7-8 minutes until tender.
Drain, rinse under cold water and set aside. If the beans are exceptionally
small and the skins thin and tender there is no need to skin them, but if
they are large then you might like to consider popping them out of their
skins – it doesn’t take long and is a pleasurable enough thing to do. The
result is a better salad.

 

Whiz the basil, vinegar, olive oil and garlic to a smooth green
dressing in a blender or food processor.

 

Cut or tear the mozzarella into thick slices and divide between two
plates. Surround with green and broad beans and drizzle with the dressing.