A cool green salad for a hot summer's day

It's still hot. The grass is turning beige in the parks, and the roses that looked so fresh and glorious last week are beginning to look faded. Who knew it was possible to have so many warm sunny days in a row?

I think I've enjoyed more picnics already than I had during the whole of last summer. Eating dinner in the sunshine, preferably in an open green space, seems like by far the most attractive option on evenings like these. The trick is to go for two or three dishes with bold flavours, that will travel well but don't require too much labouring over a hot stove, or take valuable time away for your picnic.

I was walking in a Sussex village when I found some garden-fresh vegetables for sale outside someone's house. I couldn't resist the mange tout, especially as it's quite hard to find any English mange tout in the shops. Like peas, they become less sweet after they've been picked, so enjoy them as soon as you can. 

I wanted something summery and not overcomplicated to celebrate my mange tout, and this easy salad was the result. To be honest, I haven't done much with mange tout in the past, apart from boiling them and eating them as a side vegetable, or perhaps adding them to a stir fry. I'd never tried them in a salad before, but it's something I'll definitely be returning to. I loved the glorious green colour of the dish. The dressing is fairly subtle - it's really just a celebration of vegetables, and the simple joys of summer.

Ingredients

200g / 7oz mange tout
200g/ 7oz fine green beans (fresh will have the best texture but frozen will do)
200g / 7oz peas, fresh or frozen
2 teaspooons wholegrain mustard
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Zest of half a lemon

Method 

Trim the mange tout and the green beans. Boil two pans of water. Add the green beans to one, bring to the boil and simmer for three minutes for fresh beans, one for frozen. Add the mange tout and the peas to the other pan, bring to the boil and simmer for one minute.

Drain all the vegetables and refresh under cold running water to keep the bright green colour. Drain and put in a bowl.

Mix together the mustard, olive oil and lemon zest and stir into the vegetables. Add plenty of black pepper (and salt too if you wish). Perfect for a summer picnic.