This is from the book "Hugh's Three Good Things....on a plate" by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (who despite his name does not appear to be a member of the House of Lords). The premise (or gimmick if you prefer) of this book is that each recipe relies on three basic ingredients to provide a simple but tasty dish. Thus the name of this one. It's one of those that you can really truly throw together in less than half an hour and which provides complexity and depth of flavor belying its simplicity.
Note that instead of topping with whole slices of prosciutto, we cut the prosciutto up and stirred it in. I think this worked quite well, but YMMV.
Serves 4.
400 g can of white bean, cannellini, drained
~200 g. cherry tomatoes (we halved them)
2 or 3 good sprigs of thyme, leaves only. (He says this is optional. I disagree.)
50 g. thinly sliced prosciutto or other dry-cured ham
S&P
Dressing:
1/4 clove of garlic, crushed with a good pinch of sea salt
1/2 t. English mustard
2 t. balsamic vinegar
4 T. EVOO
pinch of sugar
To make the dressing, put the crushed garlic and mustard into a bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar and EVOO, then add the sugar and season with plenty of salt and pepper.
Put the beans in a bowl, add the dressing, and toss well. Add the tomatoes and most of the thyme leaves. Stir well and then allow to sit for about 15 minutes, until the tomato juices start to run a little. Stir again and adjust seasoning. Serve the salad topped with slices of ham and a scattering of the remaining thyme leaves.
