Go lentil

Chickpea salad
This is absolutely my most favourite bean salad. You can adjust the quantities according to taste.

Serves 2

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
olive oil
juice of 1 organic lemon
2 plump garlic cloves, very finely chopped
handful very fresh coriander, leaves picked off the stalks
tamari
tabasco
1 packet (250g) Haloumi cheese, sliced
baby spinach or wild rocket

1. Drain the chickpeas into a bowl, add olive oil to your heart’s content, the lemon juice, the chopped garlic cloves, coriander leaves, a glug of tamari and a dash of Tabasco. Stir gently and set aside.
2. Grill, griddle or roast the Haloumi slices to the colour of burnished copper.
3. Serve the chickpeas on a bed of baby spinach or wild rocket and top with the Haloumi cheese.

Puy Lentil Salad
Cook some lentils slowly for 40 minutes. When they’re nearly ready, chargrill a pepper or two and grill some slices of goat’s cheese till gently oozing. Drain the lentils, then tip into a warmed serving dish. Dress with olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar, and stir in the pepper, peeled and cut into strips, and some slithers of sun-dried tomatoes. Top with the goat’s cheese.

Houmous
A more than acceptable houmous – with none of the unnatural sharpness of shop-bought varieties – can be made using tinned chickpeas. Drain the chickpeas, reserving a couple of tablespoons of their liquid, and blitz in a processor with the liquid, as much olive oil as can be absorbed, as much garlic as you like, 1 or 2 tbsp tahini, and salt and pepper to taste.