Cucumber , Radish and Broad Bean Salad with Radish Leaf and Feta Pesto

One of the signs of early labour is something called nesting, women report a strong urge to clean. Nesting is the only practical explanation for  I spent the first day of a heatwave  vaccuming the house, washing the kitchen floor, carrying 1kg of potatoes and two pineapples a couple of miles back from the shops, washing out the wheelie bin.

By the evening I was craving something cooling, luckily we have lots of summery veg since my other symptom of being overdue, stocking the kitchen as if rationing is about to be declared.

The radishes at the moment are so lovely with lush green leaves that beg to be used rather than thrown away.  I make a pesto by processing them with a  little feta ( of thick plain yogurt works or crumbly goats cheese works too) , garlic , salt , pepper and a dash of lemon juice.

This pesto makes a great dressing for crunchly salad vegetables here cucumber, red onion sliced radishes and cooked broad beans, and  tastes as fresh as it looks.

I would be happy to eat a bowl of the salad with a toasted flatbread but trying to keep up the protein levels so I flattened a chicken breast and rubbed it with crushed sumac berries , these purple lemony berries make even the dullest meat and salad go with a zing. I get them from a Turkish shop but you can even buy them on ebay.

After griddling the chicken I served it with the salad dollop of yogurt and a pile of cous cous. Refreshment just as the rainstorms came down