I must admit that for most of the year my garden is rarely without a basil plant of some sort in it. Through winter I carefully nurture a couple of bushes of Greek or bush basil to keep up a supply of their fragrant green leaves; and in summer my veggie garden is more often than not an emerald sea of wonderfully aromatic sweet basil, that sends bursts of fragrance wafting in the windows. I’m forever using it in my cooking, but at this time of year in particular when lovely little green beans are in the farmers market, and the first tender leaves of sweet basil are appearing, one of my favourite ways to use it is in this bean salad. It’s really very simple, and I love it just as is, however if you want to gild the lily a bit (and why not!) it’s also terrific with chunks of bocconcini and tiny cherry tomatoes folded through it.

750g small green beans, stalks trimmed
Handful of roasted pine nuts, tossed in a smidgen of olive oil to make them shine
Tiny basil leaves, to serve

Dressing:
Half cup (125ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1-1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 heaped tablespoons basil pesto (see recipe below), or more to taste
Sea salt, to taste

Drop the beans into a large pan of rapidly boiling salted water. Boil them until they’re cooked through but still a good bright green colour (I must admit that I’m not particularly fond of really crisp green beans – I don’t find the flavour nearly as delicious as when they’re cooked through). I know they look lovely when they’re bright green, but it’s a matter of finding just the right time to take them off the heat so they are still a gorgeous colour but properly cooked too. Check by fishing one out and taking a bite.

As soon as they’re ready, drain them in a colander. Now, tip them into a big bowl of ice and water to stop them cooking and set their colour. Once they’re cool, wrap them in a tea towel to dry. (You can store them in the fridge like this for a few hours – just slip the whole bundle into a plastic bag and seal it.)

Make the dressing just before serving the salad so the pesto keeps its bright-green colour. Whisk all the ingredients together in a big bowl, then add the beans and toss them in the dressing so they’re thoroughly coated. Pile the beans into a shallow bowl and sprinkle with the pine nuts and basil leaves. Serves 6-8.

A simple basil pesto

Lots of delis sell pesto, but if you want to whip up a batch of your own it’s very quick and easy. Just put 100g basil leaves, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, a little sea salt, 25 g of pine nuts and 1/2 cup (125ml) of extra-virgin olive oil into a blender. Whiz them together on high speed then scrape the resulting gloopy green paste out of the blender and stir in 75g of freshly grated parmesan. Spoon it into a container and cover the surface with a thin film of oil. Store it in the fridge for up to a week. If you want to freeze the pesto, leave out the parmesan, then add it after you’ve defrosted it. A neat way to package this up for the freezer is to put a couple of tablespoons of the pesto into little plastic snap lock bags. Smooth the pesto out so it forms a thin layer, then seal the bags. When you want to use it, just pull out a bag or two, let them defrost and stir in the parmesan. This is such a treat in winter, when basil is thin on the ground: I often just pop open a bag or two and drop the pesto, still frozen, into whatever I’m cooking – more often than not a casserole or pot of soup – to give it a little taste of summer sunshine.

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