Trying to plan your Christmas feast? This impressive looking salad can be prepared ahead of time and dressed just before serving.
Boil a large pot of salted water. Top and tail green beans, snow peas and sugar snap peas if you have them. Boil the beans for 3-4 minutes depending on their size until just tender but still retaining some firmness. Remove them from the water and cool them in cold water immediately. Next, cook the snow peas and sugar snap peas – they will only need a minute or two and should not be limp. Remove and cool immediately. Finally, add the broad beans and peas, switch off the heat and give them about 1 minute. Taste to check them before removing and cooling. If you’re making this ahead of time you can refrigerate the vegetables now. To make a vinaigrette, combine 4 parts good extra virgin olive oil to 1 part vinegar. Use cider vinegar for a milder dressing or red wine vinegar for a sharper taste. Add some dijon mustard to taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Whisk well to emulsify. To serve the salad arrange it on a platter, drizzle with the vinaigrette and garnish with plenty of chopped fresh dill.
michelle picker cooks 