1 lb /½ kg spinach or Swiss chard
a little oil for frying
1-2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 oz/150 g chickpeas, soaked, cooked and drained
6 tbsp. olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Wash the spinach (or Swiss chard) well. Cook it with the minimum of water, drain, chop and cool it. Meanwhile, fry the chopped onions and garlic in a little oil until brown. When the spinach and onions are cool mix with the cold, cooked chickpeas together with the olive oil, lemon juice, seasoning and chopped parsley. Season well. Serve with yoghurt.

1 small cauliflower
1 medium-sized lettuce
1 medium-sized escarole
1 medium-sized curly endive
1 lb/450 g sliced runner beans
1 lb/450 g kidney beans
1 lb/450 g chickpeas
2-3 sprigs onions, chopped
6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 oz/50 g olives, sliced
1 or 2 tins (2 oz/50 g) anchovies

Dressing:
½ pint/300 ml olive oil
¼ pint/150 ml vinegar
1½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Divide the cauliflower into florets and parboil until barely tender; drain. Mix the greens, beans, spring onions and 4 of the eggs in a salad bowl. Toss with a dressing made with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Garnish with tomato slices, egg slices, olives and anchovies.

Serves 10-12

2 cans (16 oz/400 g) kidney beans
2 cans (16 oz/400 g) (or cooked fresh)
whole green beans
2 cans (16 oz/400 g) yellow wax beans
2 cans (16 oz/400 g) chickpeas
2 large green peppers, cut into thin rings
1 large red pepper, cut into thin rings
5 onions, cut into thin rings
4 oz/100 g sliced pimento-stuffed olives
1 can (4 oz/100 g) pimentos, diced
Cos lettuce

Dressing:
3 fl oz/75 ml salad oil
3 fl oz/75 ml white vinegar
2 oz/50 g caster sugar

Turn the thoroughly drained kidney beans, green beans, wax beans and chickpeas into a large container for marinating. Add green and red peppers and onions. Sprinkle with olive slices and chopped pimentos (reserve a few for garnishing). Mix all lightly. Shake together in a covered jar the salad oil, vinegar and sugar. Pour over bean mixture. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 6 hours before serving. At serving time, line a large wooden salad bowl with lettuce leaves. Add the bean mixture. Garnish with reserved sliced olives and pimento.

Variation: Mix cooked kidney beans, green beans and chickpeas together with a crushed clove of garlic and a small chopped onion. Toss in a dressing of 4 oz olive oil, 4 oz of red wine or cider vinegar and 1 tsp. each of basil and oregano. Serve on lettuce leaves with tomato wedges.

Serves 20

2 oz/50 g chickpeas
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
4 fl oz/100 ml mayonnaise
3 garlic cloves, crushed
paprika

Soak chickpeas overnight. The following morning cook until tender. Cool and mix with the chopped parsley, add the mayonnaise and the garlic. Sprinkle with paprika.

8 oz/200 g chickpeas
1 cucumber
¼ lb/100 g mushrooms
1 green pepper
1 onion
parsley


Dressing:
½ pint/300 ml yoghurt
1 cup sour cream
garlic
salt and pepper

Soak the chickpeas overnight, boil them gently until tender. Drain and cool. Chop the vegetables into small pieces. Mix yoghurt, sour cream and crushed garlic, season well with salt and pepper. Mix the vegetables and chickpeas together. Pour on dressing and stir. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve chilled.

2 oz/50 g lima beans
2 oz/50 g red kidney beans
2 oz/50 g chickpeas
1½ pints/900 ml chicken stock
2 tbsp. oil
1 onion, chopped
3 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
salt and pepper
4 eggs, hard-boiled

Soak beans and chickpeas overnight. Put into a pan and add enough stock to cover. Simmer until tender; all the stock  should be absorbed during cooking. Fry onion in oil with bacon until golden and crisp. Stir in the hot beans and chickpeas, add the chopped hard-boiled eggs. Season with salt and pepper  and  heat through before serving.

Serves 4

1 lb/½ kg faba beans, dry
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 tsp. fresh or dry mint, chopped
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Soak beans overnight in cold water. The following day drain and rinse, cover with cold water and boil for 1 hour. Cool, then add onion, garlic, tomatoes mint and lemon juice.

Serves 4

8 oz/200 g new potatoes
4.oz/100 g small carrots
8 oz/200 g shelled faba beans
4 oz/100 g french beans
14 oz/400 g can artichoke bottoms, chopped
4 oz/100 g chickpeas, soaked and cooked
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 tbsp. natural yoghurt
6 tbsp. mayonnaise
salt and black pepper
a few sprigs of parsley

Peel the potatoes and carrots and dice, cook in boiling salted water until almost tender. In a separate  saucepan cook until tender the shelled faba beans and the topped, tailed and sliced French beans. Drain and cool, mix together all these vegetables along with the chopped artichoke bottoms and the chickpeas. Mix together crushed garlic, yoghurt and mayonnaise (preferably homemade) and add to the vegetables, stirring gently with a wooden spoon. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Rub the salad bowl with a cut clove of garlic. Mix diced salami and cooked faba beans together. Toss in oil and vinegar, season well.

1 lb/½ kg fresh faba beans, shelled
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. wine vinegar
3-4 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper

Cook the beans in boiling water until tender. Mix the paprika, mustard, garlic, parsley, vinegar, oil and seasoning together. Add the beans and toss them in the mustard dressing.

6 oz/150 g red kidney beans
6 oz/150 g haricot beans
6 oz/150 g faba beans, dry
1 onion, chopped finely
oil and vinegar
black pepper and salt

Soak all beans overnight, cook and dry them. Mix the beans, add the chopped onion, oil and vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley.

1 can chickpeas, drained
8 oz/227 g cooked fresh faba beans
8 oz/227 g soaked, coked whole lentils
1 can red kidney beans, drained.

Dressing:
½ cup vegetable
½ cup sugar
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped green pepper

After mixing the vegetables pour the
liquid mixture over them and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled.

Serves 6-8

1 lb/½ kg fresh faba beans in the pod
lemon dressing
salt and pepper
sugar
1 lettuce
4 oz/100 ml yoghurt
1 tbsp. chopped chives


Lemon dressing:
1 lemon
½ tsp. french mustard
salt and pepper
½ tbsp. sugar
6 tbsp. oil

Wash beans and, if tender enough, top and tail slice in their pods into ½ lenghts (otherwise remove beans from pods). Cook in a little boiling water until tender. Drain and toss hot beans in lemon dressing; allow to get quite cold, basting from time to time. Serve piled up on lettuce leaves topped with yoghurt. Garnish with lemon slices and a sprinkling of chopped chives.

Dressing:
Peel lemon thinly using potato peeler; snip peel into thin shreds; squeeze juice. Whisk or liquidize together lemon juice, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper and oil. Add shredded peel.

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