Summer
Recipes
Salads and Vegetables
Tomato braised green beans
I have never been a fan of squeaky, al dente green beans. I much prefer vegetables which are cooked to the point where they are yielding their natural sweetness. Here they are bathed in an unctuous tomato sauce and the flavours of both suit each other well. Serve this as a side dish for a main course (it goes well with the chicken above) or as part of a selection of vegetables for a lighter meal.
Ingredients
Serves 6
- 4tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown skinned onion, sliced finely
- Fine sea salt
- 1kg really ripe, large tomatoes
- 800g green beans, topped, not tailed
- small bunch of fresh herbs, chopped (parsley, basil, oregano, mint or dill all work well)
- Extra virgin olive oil to finish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wide bottomed casserole or deep frying pan with a lid. Fry the onion with a generous pinch of salt on a medium heat for at least 10 minutes, or until soft and sweet tasting.
- Meanwhile skin the tomatoes: put them in a large bowl and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Leave for 30 seconds then drain and refresh under cold water and slip off the skins with your fingers. Cut the tomatoes in half, scoop out the seeds and cut out any white core and discard these. Roughly chop the peeled tomato flesh.
- When the onion is cooked, add the tomatoes and some more salt and cook for 5 minutes or so until you have a thick sauce. Add the beans, some more salt and splash of water and stir to coat everything before covering with a lid. Allow this to cook for up to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn’t catch. When the beans are ready, they should be completely soft and well coated in sauce. Remove from the heat, add the chopped herbs and a good glug of your best olive oil. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
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