Three-Bean Salad with Chimichurri and Charred Spring Onions

Ingredients

• 1 x 400g tin borlotti beans
• 1 x 400g tin butter beans
• 1 x 400g tin black beans
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 2 bunches spring onions (about 16 in total)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• pinch of flaky salt
• 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley (about 40g, leaves and fine stalks)
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves (or 2 tsp dried)
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped (deseeded if you want less heat)
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp garlic-infused oil
• 1/2 tsp flaky salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 cucumber, deseeded and diced
• 1 small red onion, finely diced

Method

1. Drain and rinse all three tins of beans thoroughly under cold water until the water runs clear — that starchy tin liquid is what makes bean salads taste tinned, so rinse it off properly. Tip into a large mixing bowl and season with the fine salt.
2. Trim the root and the very tops off the spring onions but keep them whole. Toss with the tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of flaky salt.
3. Get a griddle pan ripping hot — you should feel fierce heat rising off the surface when you hold your hand 10cm above it. Lay the spring onions across the ridges in a single layer and leave them alone for 2-3 minutes. Don't fidget with them; they need contact time to char. Turn once and char the other side for another 2 minutes until the whites have softened and the greens are blackened in spots. That blackening is the flavour — it's what turns this from a bean salad into something worth eating.
4. Tip the spring onions onto a board and roughly chop into 3cm lengths. Set aside.
5. For the chimichurri, finely chop the parsley (leaves and tender stalks) and oregano by hand — a food processor turns it into a green sludge and you lose the bite. You want it chopped, not pulverised.
6. Combine the chopped herbs in a bowl with the chilli, red wine vinegar, both oils, salt and pepper. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes — the vinegar needs a moment to mellow into the oil and the herbs need to release their oils into the dressing.
7. Add the cherry tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber and red onion to the beans.
8. Pour two-thirds of the chimichurri over the beans and fold gently with a large spoon — you want the beans coated, not crushed. Butter beans break easily, so be patient.
9. Taste. It should hit you with vinegar first, then herbs, then a low warmth from the chilli. If it tastes flat, it needs more salt or another splash of vinegar — bean salads need more seasoning than you think because the beans are bland on their own.
10. Tip onto a wide platter, scatter the charred spring onions over the top, and spoon the remaining chimichurri over so the green oil pools across the surface. Rest for 10 minutes before serving — this is the difference between a good bean salad and a great one. The beans need time to drink in the dressing.