Much like lentils, beans, especially the white varieties, seem to suffer from a rather stuffy reputation. Unfairly so, because they’re not only very nutritious and cheap, but also a lot tastier than most people give them credit for. That’s why I’m urging you to look past your standard baked beans in tomato sauce scenario and imagine them in a more Mediterranean setting. As part of this salad, for example! I’m using ready-cooked cannellini beans from a can, which means this salad is not only tasty, healthy and cheap, but also dead easy. Need I say more?

Ingredients (as a side dish for 2):

1 can of cannellini beans or butter beans

5 cocktail vine tomatoes, quartered  or 10  cherry tomatoes, halved

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or pressed

a drizzle of olive oil

coarse sea salt

cracked black pepper

a few leaves of fresh basil, torn to pieces

• Drain the beans. Mix with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic
• Add the tomatoes, adjust seasoning if necessary
• Add basil and tuck in. I told you it was easy!