Curried Butter Bean Salad

It looks as if September will be a month of sun and fine weather after a disappointing August. That means more outdoor eating and what better food than a nice fresh salad to accompany the barbecued meat. I'm told we are a nation of salad dodgers. Is that because we think of a 'salad' as lettuce, cucumber and tomato? What a friend of mine used to call 'rabbit food'. It doesn't have to be like that, with a little imagination you can knock-up a salad that offers a whole different set of tastes. Try this curried butter bean salad for a start. If you want a stronger curry taste then you simply add more curry powder. This recipe suits my taste. Butter beans are a good source of protein too, which can be lacking in some diets. Here we go...

Ingredients (serves 4):
2tsp vegetable oil
2 onions - finely chopped
2tsp curry powder
150ml natural yogurt
1tbs lemon juice
40g canned butter beans - drained and rinsed
half a lettuce
salt and pepper
walnuts and raisins

Method:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions and fr gently for 8 minutes.
• Add the curry powder and cook for another 2 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
• Mix the yogurt with the lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add to the onion mixture, then stir in the butter beans, and a few walnuts and raisins.
• Make a bed of lettuce on a large plate, then dollop the butter bean mixture on top and serve.