Fasoul jahnia (White bean salad)

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Vegetables added, ready to start the second boil

A herby cooked salad from Bulgaria where lemon juice is preferred to vinegar in dressings.

Ingredients

• 500 g haricot beans, soaked overnight
• Garlic to taste, crushed
• 250 g onions, diced
• 250 g carrots, diced
• 150 ml sunflower oil
• The juice of 1 lemon
• Seasoning
• Mint, finely chopped
• Dill, finely chopped
• Thyme, finely chopped
• Tarragon, finely chopped
• Savory, finely chopped
• Hard-boiled egg slices
• Black olives

Method

1. Drain the beans and put them in a large saucepan.
2. Cover them to a depth of 2.5 cm with un-salted water.
3. Bring to the boil and cook, covered, for 1 hour, skimming the surface of scum from time to time.
4. At this stage, I drained the beans and then just refilled with fresh water, just enough to cover the beans.
5. Add the garlic, vegetables and a little salt, bring back to the boil and cook for a further hour.
6. Drain the beans, stir in the oil, lemon juice, and plenty of black pepper and allow to cool.
7. Serve in a shallow dish, sprinkled with the herbs - the quantity is up to you - and garnish with the egg slices and olives.

Serving suggestions

On its own with bread, or as an accompaniment to fish.

Variations

You can use any white beans, although cooking times may vary.

I used this recipe as an opportunity to use the last of this year's home-grown sweet peppers. Raw, de-seeded and chopped and stirred in just before serving.

Chef's notes

After the first hour of boiling, the beans had already started to disintegrate so I only boiled the second stage for as long as it takes to cook the carrots (30 minutes).

This time of year almost all my fresh herbs are gone, so I have added a few fresh bay leaves at the second boiling stage to add a herby flavour.