Edamame Bean and Tuna Salad

 

Edamame beans are a delicious addition to any salad. Full of fibre, and protein, they bring green freshness, crunch and are filling to eat. Edamame are young soybeans, harvested before they turn brown. I've made this salad a few times, always with a slight variation, however this is the basic recipe I use. 

It's so handy having a packet of these beans in the freezer, just waiting to be part of a delicious crunchy salad. The tuna brings a nice change of flavour, complimenting the bean perfectly, however you could substitute chicken if you wish. This is such an easy salad to bring together, and I promise you it is absolutely delicious. I'm hooked on these edamame beans now and they are a standard item in my shopping trolley. They can be purchased frozen still in the pods, as mine were, but the pods aren't meant to be eaten. The beans just pop out of the pods very easily after being soaked in very hot water. Edamame is a Japanese word, meaning "beans on branches" and have been eaten as a snack food in many Asian countries for thousands of years, just like seaweed is in Japan.

This recipe is from The Ultimate Fast 800 recipe Book by Dr. Michael Mosley, Dr. Claire Bailey and Justine Pattison.

Ingredients:

Serves 2, only 408 calories per serve

Ingredients:

200 g frozen Edamame beans

2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 x 110 g can tuna, in olive oil or springwater

15 g fresh coriander, flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped. 

1 1/2 tablespoons live apple cider vinegar 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 large handfuls of mixed salad leaves

Cooked ancient grains of your choice (optional)

Method:

Tip the edamame beans into a heatproof bowl, and pour some water from a just boiled kettle over them. Stir them and leave for 1 minute and the beans will thaw very quickly. Drain them in a colander and rinse under cold water. There's no need to cook them at all. The beans will pop out of the pods easily and are ready to use.

Break the tuna into flakes, and add to a bowl with the beans, spring onions, and fresh herbs.

Whisk the vinegar and olive oil dressing together until emulsified, drizzle over the salad, and season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

Toss well together.

Just before serving, fold in the leaves.

Cook's tips:

Mr. HRK likes a little bit of heat in his food, so sometimes I sprinkle over a pinch of crushed dried chill flakes for a bit more bite.

Save the roots of the coriander, store them in a bag in the frig, and chop and saute them for use in other dishes.

Add a square of dried Nori seaweed, cut into little pieces, for some extra flavour and omega-3. (Thanks Michael Mosley for this tip.)

Tuna packed in olive oil doesn't always need to be drained for the salad, you just need 110 g of tuna meat.

Keep some cooked whole grains, such as quinoa and burghul wheat in covered containers in the refrigerator, and add a few tablespoons to this salad for each person. Or grains can be purchased in packets, precooked at the supermarket. 

Without the grains, this salad is only 408 calories.

Hoping you have a happy and healthy weekend,

Best wishes,

 Pauline