Asparagus & Cannellini Bean Salad

6 ingredients, 10 mins, 2 servings

Ingredients

• ½ can cannellini beans
• 6 stalks of asparagus
• 6 – 8 sugar snap peas
• 1 large handful spinach
• Parmesan shavings (approx. 20g)
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp pesto
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Seasoning to taste

Method

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and place them in a bowl.
Griddle, grill or dry fry the asparagus for 2 – 3 minutes until it has softened slightly but still retains a fresh green colour and ‘bite’. Allow to cool slightly then cut into 3 cm pieces.
Slice sugar snap peas into half so that they are in bite size pieces.
Roughly chop spinach.
Add all vegetables to cannellini beans.
Mix together pesto, lemon juice and olive oil to form a dressing.
Toss the salad in the dressing, season to taste and sprinkle with shavings of parmesan and sunflower seeds.

Variations

• Use tenderstem broccoli if asparagus is out of season
• My salad bag pesto is a really good choice for the dressing.
• To make this salad vegan you could replace the parmesan with some nutritional yeast or seaweed flakes – you want something that replicates the umami flavour. I would recommend a vegan feta style cheese rather than parmesan style
• A vegetarian substitute for parmesan such as Grana Padano would work fine.
• If you eat meat this salad works well served with a chicken breast.