, Step by step
Asparagus, Broad Bean, Pancetta, and Pea Shoot Salad
A delightful summer Saturday lunch with friends, a bottle of white Burgundy, and putting the world to rights!
Method
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Step 1
Start by cutting the asparagus spears 10cm long, and peel them from just below the tip. Cook in boiling water for 1 minute and refresh under cold water.
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Step 2
Broad beans are best eaten peeled, so pinch and squeeze the bean out of the tough outside skin.
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Step 3
Place the pancetta on a non-stick baking tray and cook in a hot oven until crispy.
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Step 4
Cut the lettuce into large chunks and wash. Mix with the pea shoots and keep to one side.
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Step 5
Mix the salad with the broad beans, parmesan and 20ml of olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper, then lace the salad onto the centre of the plates.
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Step 6
Arrange the asparagus and tomatoes around the outside of the plate and serve with the pancetta stick on top of the salad.
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Step 7
Drizzle the remaining oil around the plate.
Nutrition
Are you eating your 5 a day yet? Recent figures indicate that on average we are still not eating more than 3 portions of vegetables and fruit daily.
According to recent research, eating vegetables – which are excellent sources of dietary fibre, protective vitamins and minerals – may be more important than eating fruit for reducing risk of diseases such as diabetes.
Pea shoots – the tendrils and young leaves of pea plants – are a pretty novel ingredient in the UK but have been long used in Chinese cooking.
Asparagus is another shoot of what is technically a flowering plant that has been cultivated in Britain since the seventeenth century when it was known as ‘sparrow grass’.
Both pea shoots and asparagus are rich in vitamins – especially the B vitamin folate which is important for growth and renewal of cells in the body.
DR JULIET GRAY, COMPANY NUTRITIONIST
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