Braised green beans with trahana

These beans remind me of my lunches at my grandparents’ house: lace tablecloths covered with a sheet of thick plastic for protection; plates of feta in the middle of the table and bread straight out of the oven. Great as a side, or good by themselves too.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  6

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
• 2 red onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 kg Roman beans, sides peeled, trimmed, halved on the diagonal
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup trahana (see Note)
• 2 cups (500 ml) chicken or vegetable stock, divided
• 2 400 g cans crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup mixed dill and mint, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Salt and black pepper
• Feta cheese and crusty bread, to serve

Serves: 6 as a side

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onions and cook, stirring for 15 minutes, until golden-brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, followed by the beans. Stir until the beans change colour slightly.
2. Stir the tomato paste through the beans to coat, then add the trahana to the pan, mixing well to combine. Add half the chicken stock and the crushed tomatoes. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring every 5 minutes or so, adding an extra splash of chicken stock when needed. You want the trahana to be cooked through and the beans to be tender. This will take around 25 minutes, depending on what type of trahana you use.
3. Once most of the liquid is absorbed, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir through the herbs and lemon juice and season to taste. Transfer the braised green beans with trahana to a large serving platter. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with feta cheese and bread on the side.

Note

Trahana, a type of very small dried wheat pasta, is available to purchase at Mediterranean grocers.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.