Today we have come up with a dish that can become a light main course or a perfect side dish to enrich a meal. Simple, genuine, tasty and ideal for any palate: one ingredient and herbs and you’re done, Mint flavoured beans.

Here’s how to prepare them for a fresh, healthy, naturally gluten-free and diabetes-friendly dish, perhaps accompanied by seasonal vegetables. I chose Borlotti beans that are very common in northern Italy, but feel free to pick your favourite beans for this salad.

And if you want an idea for another fresh and tasty salad, try this irresistible Swordfish salad.

Mint flavoured beans

18.56g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

• 160g dried borlotti or white beans (soaked for 12 hours)
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 clove garlic
• extra virgin olive oil, mint, salt and black or pink pepper

Preparation

1. Boil the beans in water with celery and garlic; once cooked, remove the latter and drain the beans.
2. Let the beans cool and season them with fresh mint leaves, a good extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper: it is a very simple dish, but really rich in flavour and aroma.

Version with gluten of Mint flavoured beans

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.