My favourite dishes are the ones that are simple and only use a handful of the best ingredients. This is one such example.
Back home, our go-to way to eat green beans (we call them 'fagiolini') is to simply boil them with potatoes and season with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper...such comfort food.
But my new favourite way is to cook them in this delicious tomato sauce...perfect for dipping a piece of bread in and soaking up all the flavour.
Fennel seeds are used a lot in Sicily and I especially like them in tomato sauce as it give the sauce a wonderful, delicate flavour. My grandma used to add them to her tomato sauce and I always think of her whenever I make sauce this way.
Ingredients (for 4 as a side or 2 as a main)
250g green beans, ends trimmed
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp chilli flakes
400g chopped tomatoes (I used 1 can of tomato polpa)
1 tsp salt
1 tap sugar
Method
In a wide pan, heat up 2 tbsp of oil and add the garlic and fennel, let them brown slightly.
Add the tomato, and season with salt, sugar and chilli flakes. Throw in the green beans, add roughly 200ml water, cover with a lid and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid, increase the heat and cook for additional 3 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the beans are fork-tender.
Transfer to a plate and top with the remaining 2 tbsp of evo oil. Serve with plenty of bread.
Buon appetito!
Word of the Day
Fagiolini
(Green beans, pronounced fa·gio·lì·no)
Commenti