Spring bean fattoush with roast garlic dressing

Ingredients

• 300 g flat beans, trimmed, blanched and cut into 2-cm pieces
• 300 g butter beans, trimmed, blanched and cut into 2-cm pieces
• 300 g podded broad beans, blanched and peeled
• 2 large vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small bunch radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 bunch mint, leaves picked
• extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• squeeze of lemon juice

Dressing

• 2 heads garlic
• 200 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 50 ml lemon juice
• salt, to taste

Toasted bread

• 2 pieces Lebanese bread, split in half
• 50 g sumac
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 150 ml extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. For the dressing, preheat the oven to 140ºC. Place the garlic in a baking dish with 250 ml (1 cup) water or just enough to cover the bottom of the tray. Cover with foil and bake for 3 hours or until the garlic is caramelised and super soft. Remove from the tray and allow to cool.
2. Squeeze the caramelised garlic out of the heads and into a bowl making sure you don’t leave any skins in the garlic paste. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and half the lemon juice until emulsified. Season with salt, then whisk in the remaining lemon juice. This will make more dressing than you need for this recipe, but it will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. 
3. For the toasted bread, preheat the oven to 180ºC. Split the Lebanese bread in half. Combine the sumac, salt and oil in a bowl and brush over the rough side of each piece of bread. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Once cooled, break into large pieces.
4. To assemble, place all the salad ingredients into a large bowl. Add the toasted bread and 2 tablespoons of the garlic dressing. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Using your hands, toss the salad without breaking the bread too much. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

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