Green bean and potato salad with eggs, green herbs & olives

Cooking notes: Cooling the eggs as fast as you can after boiling stops a black ring appearing between the white and yolk. The yolk should be cooked but slightly soft and not chalky in the middle, but you could boil them for 3-4 minutes instead then gently peel when hot and break the egg and its runny yolk over the warm salad just before serving. Check your mustard pot for gluten if you're cooking for coeliacs - sometimes it's hiding.

1. Give the new potatoes a wash and scrub. Cut small ones in half and larger ones into quarter's. Fill the large pan with cold salted water. Add the potatoes, eggs and bay leaf. Bring to the boil. After exactly 6 minutes from the moment of boiling, remove the eggs.

2. Pop them in a bowl and cool quickly in cold running water. When the potatoes are tender to a knife tip, drain them and leave to one side. Clean the pan, refill with salted water and put on to boil again. Peel the eggs when cooled. Cut the olives in halves.

3. Wash the dill, basil (half the pack of each) and 8 chives and shake them dry. Put the capers in a cup of cold water to soak. Remove the tops from the beans. Slice them into 1cm angled pieces. Fill a bowl with cold water. Blanch the beans in the waiting boiling water for 3 minutes until tender.

4. Drain and plunge into the cold water to stop the cooking. To make the dressing, pound the garlic clove with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar. Add the mustard and vinegar and work into a fine paste. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons of oil to make a thick dressing.

5. Season well with salt and pepper. If making by hand, finely chop the garlic and whisk with the mustard and vinegar before slowly adding the olive oil. Roughly chop the dill leaves and the 8 chives. Drain, squeeze dry and roughly chop the capers. Mix the warm potatoes together with the dressing.

6. Add the drained beans, olives, capers, chopped herbs and some freshly torn basil leaves. Check the seasoning. Divide between 2 plates and top each with an egg cut into wedges.

Recipe: Riverford