New Potato and Broad Bean Salad with creamy dressing- vegan

Garnish with sprigs of mint and radish roses- look here for how to make these

Makes an attractive dish for an al fresco lunch

Summer seems to be here at long last, and our allotment is finally looking fruitful. This recipe came about as a way to use our broad beans and potatoes, but, smells and flavours being so evocative, as I was preparing it I was transported back to my beloved Auntie Pat's bungalow on the edge of the New Forest.... Pat also loved to grow her own veggies, and her garden was always amazingly well-kept, right to the end of her life. I remember particularly one Summer's day when I was about 21, taking the bus to visit her and she set before me a plate full of her homegrown new potatoes and broad beans, unadorned except for salt, butter and fresh mint (also from the garden). I never saw Auntie Pat serve potatoes without mint, in fact... as she regaled me with my favourite stories of her youth in India (like the time she ran away from home at the age of 5, taking her dad's pistol with her then going through a forest area where there was a maneating tiger...!), we tucked in to this quintessentially English fare, and I remember thinking that I'd never eaten anything so delicious before. I think Auntie would have approved of this salad version of her much- loved homegrown ingredients... Serves 4-5 as a side.

250-300g fresh broad beans (shelled weight)
1 kg new potatoes
a few sprigs of fresh mint and 3 or 4 radishes to garnish
For the dressing: (makes a bit more than you wil actually need, but it'a so nice you will want to put it with other salads too :) )
3 tabs light tahini
2 tabs extra- virgin olive oil
2 tabs yeast flakes (aka nutritional yeast)
1 tsp yellow mustard powder (such as Coleman's)
3-4 tabs lemon juice*
1tsp seasalt
1/4 -1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
100ml water

*Sorry- I forgot to note down exactly how much, so add it slowly and stop when it's tangy enough yet still creamy)

• Blanch the beans for 2 minutes in boiling water, then rinse with cold immediately. They will retain their crunchy texture somewhat, but not taste raw.
• Wash and prepare the potatoes. Don't peel them; the thin skill will most likely peel off as you wash them anyway. Very small potatoes can be left whole. Try to get them a uniform size, as you don't want some to be cook soft while others are hard in the centre. (I know because I've done this!)
• Steam the potatoes in a minimal amount of water, so that it all gets absorbed and they slip off a knife when cooked through.
• Meanwhile, Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together with a balloon whisk.
• When the potatoes are cooked, rinse them in cold water.
• Mix the potatoes and beans together in a bowl with about 1/2 -2/3 of the dressing (keep the rest in the fridge for later).
• Garnish with mint sprigs and radish roses, and there you go...