Broccoli and bean salad

I thought this Broccoli and Bean salad looked nice and colourful.  It tasted crunchy and was even pretty easy to prepare.

First I microwaved some broccoli florets lightly – for about a minute with just a few drops of water and covered with cling film.  Then I immediately ran cold water over them until they were cool.  This stops them cooking and ensures that they remain bright green and crunchy.  Then I drained them and dried them in paper towels.  You can see from the picture that I cut the broccoli so the florets were small bite sized.

Then into the same bowl I microwaved some beans cut up into thirds.  I did those for 3 minutes – they take a bit more cooking than the broccoli.  Then I refreshed them in cold water the same way.

I laid them out on a plate along with strips of yellow and orange capsicum (bell pepper), a few slices of red onion, a few slices of cornichons (teensy cucumbers) and topped it over with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Right before served I poured over a light dressing made from lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper.  Simple, healthy and tasty.