Friday, June 4, 2010

Green beans


As June marks the half-way mark for the year I thought it a good time to post a progress report on cooking more vegetarian dishes which you may remember was one of my resolutions (updated version) for the new year. Sadly, it's not going as well as I had hoped. Everytime I attempt to make a meal without meat I end up adding a bit of bacon or tuna to boost the flavour. It's not all bad news though, as I now have a new favourite side dish.

This Lebanese bean dish is delicious and great for BBQ's. This recipe makes quite a large quantity which usually (but not always) means you have some left-over for lunch the next day–you gotta love that!

Lebanese Beans
Ingredients:
1kg fresh green beans, washed and strings removed
½ cup borlotti beans, soaked overnight*
¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
¼ cup water
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Method:
Cut the top and bottom off beans and cut in half. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry onion until golden brown.
Mix borlotti beans* and green beans with onion. Toss on high heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in water, salt, oregano and pepper.
Simmer, covered, for 1½ to 2 hours or until beans are soft and have been infused fully with the taste of other ingredients.


* If you want to make this dish and haven't soaked the beans overnight (or couldn't be bothered as may be the case), simply use a can of beans instead (any type). If you do use canned beans, makek sure you rinse them well and add about 1 hour after the green beans so they don't overcook and turn to mush.

1 comment:

  1. yum yum
    if only I could get the ferals interested
    was thinking of you yesterday - guzzled down the last few pieces of amaranth slice from the high tea - still not as good as yours !!! xo

    ReplyDelete