Red pepper, green bean, red radish and egg salad

Ingredients (for 4 people):

·         A large bowl of green beans, trimmed

·         2 hard boiled eggs

·         2 large red peppers

·         4-6 red radishes

·         1 large clove of garlic

·         Good quality balsamic vinegar

·         Extra virgin olive oil

·         Salt and cracked black pepper

Blanch the trimmed green beans in salty boiling water for 1 minute. Tip the water out and set aside the blanched beans. (Note: if you want extra crunchy green beans, tip the hot water out, and dump the beans in icy water to stop the cooking process)

Deseed the red peppers, and cut in strips. Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and sauté till translucent. Add pepper strips, salt and pepper, and a dash of balsamic vinegar, cook till the peppers have softened. Set aside the cooked peppers and garlic.

Chop the red radishes and slice the hard boiled eggs.

In a large salad bowl (note: you need a large salad bowl for this, as a large bowl allows room for the ingredients to soak up the salad dressing), combine the cooked peppers, garlic, green beans, eggs, and red radishes, drizzle balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil to generously coat the ingredients, add salt and black pepper to taste, and bon appétit!!

This mouth-watering salad would go well with grilled meat/fish and a creamy mash, as the tanginess of the salad cuts through the richness of the creamy mash. It would not go well with dishes that are high in acidity, like tomato-based stews, as the acidity in the tomato sauce and the acidity in the salad dressing would almost certainly cause stomach reflux! 

Variations:

You can roast the peppers and garlic to bring out their natural sugar. Garlic croutons can be added to make it a main-meal salad. Strips of grilled beef can be added to the salad. There are many variations you can experiment with, the key is to get the basic flavour combinations right.