Sunday 15th August 2021 - Green Beans in Olive Oil

July through to September is the time of year when we can all enjoy wonderful summer vegetables, as well as fruits. Of course, imports of some of these are available in supermarkets throughout the year, but we prefer to wait until they are in season here in England, even better if grown in our garden. One dish which we particularly enjoy is my recipe for green beans in olive oil; this is in my published book, The 3R’s – Recipes, Reflections and Reminiscences. It is a Greek dish which lends itself to French, runner, flat and pole beans, and goes particularly well with grilled and BBQ’d meats, or vegetarians will enjoy it with fried halloumi cheese, or a nut roast for vegans. For those who would like to try this dish, I have included my recipe below, followed by some notes:-

Green Beans in Olive Oil

Green Beans - ½kg beans, runner, flat and pole beans - topped, tailed and cut diagonally into 3-4cm pieces, French beans – top and tail and leave whole

Onions - 1, medium, finely chopped

Chopped Tin Tomatoes – 1 x 400g tin

Olive oil - 100-165ml

• Put the beans and onions in a pan with enough water to cover.

• Bring to the boil and cook the beans until tender, about 15 mins.

• Remove from the heat and ladle out most of the water.

• Add the tomatoes and the olive oil to the pan.

• Return to the heat and simmer for approximately a further 15 mins.

Notes:

• There is no salt and pepper in my recipe; I find the flavours of the ingredients need no further enhancement.

• Cook the day before eating, to give time for the flavours of the olive oil to penetrate and soften the beans.

• If you have a vegetable plot or allotment and have a glut of beans, you can increase the quantities, to provide plenty for the freezer to enjoy in the winter months. If you are going to freeze, then I suggest you put the beans into containers rather than bags.

• Although any brand of olive oil will do, if you are going to be a purest, for this recipe it should be Greek and preferably extra virgin. We buy online 3 or 5 litre cans, depending on availability, of a highly rated extra virgin olive oil, Elea Creta.

Today’s photo was taken this morning as we walked along the prom. It was an exceptionally beautiful scene; tranquil and quiet before the visitors arrived to enjoy the beach and sea.