For the salad

• 2.5 kg (5½ lb) green vegetables: green beans, broad (fava) beans, dried peas, snow peas (mangetouts), green asparagus, or a mixture thereof
• 4 stalks of blanched celery, washed and sliced diagonally in 2-cm (approx 1-inch) slices
• 1 bunch parsley, tarragon, mint and dill, or a mixture thereof, coarsely chopped
• 2 sterile preserving jars of approx. 1 litre (4 cups) or smaller ones (for sterile jars)

For the yoghurt-dill dressing

• 100 ml (approx 3 fl oz/½ cup) yoghurt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp nectar (apricot or peach)
• 1 spring onion (scallion), finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbsp dill, finely chopped
• 50 ml (1½ fl oz/¼ cup) hazelnut oil
• freshly ground pepper and salt

As a dressing or side dish, as an appetiser or lunch dish, calculate 40–50 g (approx. 2 oz) of the following ingredients per person. For the salad use tasty crumbles such as goat’s cheese or feta, ham, smoked fish, wafer-thin smoked chicken or thinly sliced beef loin.

Cut the long vegetables, such as green asparagus or green beans in half. Blanch all vegetables for 2 minutes, in turn, in a pan with plenty of boiling water. Finish with the broad beans, since they will colour the water purple. Rinse everything immediately under cold running water. Mix the vegetables, stir in the herbs (reserve some for the garnish if you do not preserve the salad, but will serve it later that day) and scoop into two 1-litre (4-cup) preserving jars. Top up the jars with hot water and 1 tablespoon salt per litre (4 cups) of water used. Make sure all beans are immersed. Sterilise the jars for 30–40 minutes. You can keep this salad in the refrigerator for 12 months.

If you do not preserve the salad, make the dressing straight away.

Thoroughly blend all ingredients, except the oil. Lastly, beat in the oil in a thin trickle.

Distribute the bean salad over the plates and garnish with cheese, meat or fish, or serve as is, as a side dish. Trickle the dressing on the salad and sprinkle with some of the reserved chopped herbs.

You can keep the leftover dressing carefully covered in the refrigerator for about a week.