Braised Romano Beans
by Jonathan Lessuck
When I saw that we were getting Romano beans, I searched for a recipe. This one caught my eye because it brought together the beans with grape tomatos. It is a spicy sauce, so adjust it to your families tolerance for heat.
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| Braised Romano beans, photo by author. |
Braised Romano Beans with Spicy Cherry Tomato Sauce & Lemony Ground Walnuts
(Original recipe from The First Mess).
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4 -6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium shallot, small dice
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
½ - 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes or ground chillies (I used Diaspora Co.'s ground Guntur Sannam Chillies)
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon capers, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup water
¾ lb green Romano beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
¼ cup walnut halves
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon tamari soy sauce
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
chilli oil for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once the pan is
hot, pour in the olive oil and swirl it around. Add the shallot and
thyme to the pan and stir. Cook until the shallots are translucent and
soft, stirring often, about 3-4 minutes. If the shallots are browning on
the edges, lower the heat.
Add the chili and smoked paprika to the
pan and stir for about 30 seconds. Then, add the capers and minced
garlic. Keep stirring until the garlic is very fragrant, about 30
seconds. Add the tomato paste to the pan and break it up with the back
of your spoon. Keep stirring and mashing the bits of tomato paste until
it has darkened a shade or two. Again, if you’re experiencing rapid
browning/drying of the pan here, just lower the heat.
Add the cherry
tomatoes to the pan and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Once the
cherry tomatoes let off some juices and start bubbling, keep the heat at
this level. Simmer the cherry tomato sauce base for 5 minutes. Then,
add the water to the pan and stir. Let the sauce simmer another 5
minutes. The sauce should be slightly thick but still fluid enough to
move around the pan easily.
Add the cut green Romano beans to the pan
along with some extra salt and pepper. Stir to coat the beans in the
sauce. Bring the sauce and beans to a boil and then lower the heat to a
simmer. Cover the beans and continue to simmer until they are tender and
the sauce has thickened around the beans, about 15-18 minutes. I like
to lift the lid and check in on the beans here and there, giving it a
stir each time.
While the beans are simmering, finely chop the
walnuts and mix them together in a small bowl with the lemon zest and a
pinch of salt. You could also grind this mixture up in a mini food
processor if you like.
Once the Romano beans are done simmering, stir
in the ½ teaspoon of tamari soy sauce. Check the dish for seasoning and
adjust if necessary. Serve the braised Romano beans warm with the
lemony walnut mixture and parsley sprinkled on top. Garnish with chili
oil if you like.
Recipe Notes
You could definitely make this with regular green beans,
but the experience will be a bit different. The Romano beans have a
meaty quality that works so nicely here. That said, regular green beans
would still be tasty! I’d simply leave them whole rather than cutting
them. They will likely need less simmering time--I’d start checking at
the 8 minute mark.
This cherry tomato sauce is seriously incredible
with pasta. Use a bit of the starchy pasta cooking water to thin out the
sauce rather than the plain water that I call for here.
If you would like to make this nut-free, you can substitute toasted sunflower seeds for the walnuts.
To make this soy-free, use 1 teaspoon coconut aminos in place of the tamari.
These braised Romano beans with spicy cherry tomato sauce are a simple and incredibly flavorful side dish.
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