Plain green vegetable may be good for you, but they can be a bit dull. Courgettes, marrow, cauliflower and other veggies can be lifted by stirring them in to a simply made sauce of onion and tomatoes. For a winter’s lunch or light supper, this is a good accompaniment to a piece of grilled or fried white fish (like cod, haddock or sea bass), or a piece of chicken or red meat. It is also a good vegetarian dish and with some grilled mushrooms, some rice, pasta or cous-cous, makes a tasty main course. You can use most green beans, including runners (though be careful of stringy ones) if you want British/local produce. Helda beans work very well – in summer they’re grown in the East of England, but in winter come from Morocco.
Ingredients for four servings
275 g / 10 oz fresh green beans
1 medium-large onion (about 100 g / 3½ oz)
4 – 5 ripe tomatoes (about 200 g / 7 oz)
1 – 2 cloves garlic (optional), peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsps. olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
1. Top and tail the green beans and cut crossways into pieces.
2. Peel, half and slice onion thinly.
3. In a non-stick pan with lid heat the oil and fry the onions until transparent.
4. Add garlic if you are using, stir and fry for a minute or two more.
5. Roughly chop tomatoes and add to pan¸ stir, put heat down to low and simmer with lid on for ten minutes. If necessary add a little water so they do not cook dry.
6. Meanwhile, put the green beans in to another pan, cover with water and heat to boiling, then lower the heat and simmer until almost tender and still nice and green.
7. Drain green beans and tip into tomato/onion mixture, stir and keep on low heat for a minute or so more.
If you want to have a bit of the flavour of southern France, add a pinch or two of dried Fines Herbes before you put in the tomatoes.
This recipe is the first of a weekly series published in “Coastal Scene”, the excellent free local newspaper. Watch for this feature every week!
