Green Beans & Tomatoes

 
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This is another great recipe shared with me by the same family friend as the Punjabi cabbage dish and I can’t think of any way to describe it other than a taste of summer extravaganza.

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 1/2 lb (or so) green beans, trimmed and halved

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil

  • 1/4 small onion OR 1/2 shallot, minced

  • 2 Tbsp. water (roughly)

  • 1 clove garlic, minced OR garlic powder

  • 1 small slicing tomato, chopped or a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved.

  • 1/4 tsp. oregano

  • 1/4 tsp dried basil (or a handful of fresh leaves)

  • salt & pepper to taste

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)

Method

  1. Saute onion and garlic in frying pan for a couple of minutes

  2. Add green beans, water, tomatoes and herbs (if using fresh basil, reserve till end of cooking).  Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally

  3. Uncover, and continue cooking until veggies are tender (add fresh basil if using at this point and lemon juice if desired. stir in well).  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

I served this with some wilted spinach, and butternut squash.

To cook the squash, cut it in half lengthwise (being very careful not to cut yourself). Put one half, skin side up, in a ceramic baking dish and add half a cup of water. Cover and cook in the microwave on full power for 20 minutes. When it’s ready it should be easy to pierce with a fork and have a creamy mashed potato sort of texture. To serve, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and a little butter if desired. Alternatively, you can cook it in the oven at 400 F for 35 to 40 minutes.

The green beans can be a bit tedious to prepare, but in total it only took me about 25 minutes to make this meal from scratch.

 
Andrew Williamson