500 gms green beans (incl Italian wavy beans)
Virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves organic garlic
Salt & Pepper
Green capsicum
Fresh red chili
Tomato puree (preferable home made, but if bought ensure ingredients are tomatoes and salt only.)
Utensils:
Large frying pan with reasonable depth, or saucepan
Method:
- Wash and top and tail beans. If beans are particularly fresh, leave the tails.
- Crush garlic cloves and remove outer skin.
- Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil on medium to low heat.
- When warm, drop in garlic and a piece of green capsicum.
- Cook for 5 minutes and add chili.
- Cook for another 5 minutes being careful not to burn or brown the garlic as this will alter the flavour.
- Add the raw beans and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add half a bottle of tomato puree and cook on a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes until beans are cooked to your taste.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and remove capsicum.
- The sauce is ready when the oil starts to separate a bit from the tomato.
(Variation: If you have lots of ripe fresh tomatoes, chop them and add them before the beans and cook down for a few minutes before adding beans. Fresh tomatoes will taste heaps better.)
Great served with polenta or couscous or as an accompaniment to a Middle Eastern Meal.
