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When designing dishes for restaurant menus, there are 5 rules that must be followed: it has to be pretty, it has to taste good, it has to be prep-efficient, it has to reheat quickly and it has to be cost-effective. This dish wouldn’t make the cut for a restaurant menu. Why, because it’s kind of ugly. It can only exist in the home kitchen where one is free from the constraints of the rules governing the food industry.
These rules are why the only green beans you will ever see on a menu (outside of the South) are those crunchy, vibrant, blanched green beans. The cooks make a big batch and use them cold on salads for the lunch shift, chopped up in the veggie soup, and quick-sauteed with some butter and garlic as a side dish for dinner. Don’t get me wrong – I like blanched green beans and when I was working as an Executive Chef, I too used them all over my summer menu. Blanching is the perfect method for tender young vegetables when you want to retain their bright color and capture the essence of their flavor. The thing is, sometimes we get beans that aren’t young or tender. Sometimes they are downright fibrous and borderline bitter. Sometimes we don’t want to capture their pure flavor, we want to transform their flavor with long-slow cooking.
This dish is a great example of the transformative power of heat – browning, reduction, flavor dispersion, and the enzymatic processes at work over a prolonged cooking time. The green beans become soft and sweet. Tomatoes, dry-cured olives, lemon zest, and herbs provide contrast and balance. You can throw in some marble potatoes and chicken breast in the last 15-30 minutes of cooking for an easy, no-fuss one-pot meal.
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Braised Green Beans with Tomatoes and Olives
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: n/a
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These slow-cooked braised green beans are deeply flavorful and comforting.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 lb green beans
1/2 large onion sliced
1/4 cup oil cured olives
zest from 1/4 lemon
1 can diced tomatoes
8 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
1/4 cup water (optional)
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or Herbes d’Provence
1 Tablespoon chopped tarragon (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
In a brazier, dutch oven or oven-proof skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onions and garlic until tender. Add the green beans, olives, lemon zest, and tomatoes (with juices). Season with salt and pepper and heat this mixture until the tomato juices are boiling. Cover a with a lid and transfer to the oven.
Bake for 1 1/2-2 hours or until the green beans are nice and tender. Stir in the tarragon if using. Taste and season again with salt and pepper to taste. If you would like it a little saucier, transfer the green beans back to the burner over medium-high heat and add 1/4-1/2 cup of water or broth and stir to deglaze the pan.
VARATION: Make it a one pot meal
Add 1 lb golf ball sized red or gold potatoes in the last 30 minutes of braising. If using larger potatoes, cut them half.
Add seasoned chicken breasts in the last 15-20 minutes of braising. Check the chicken breast for doneness and give it more time if needed. Or use chicken thighs and braise with the green beans for the whole 1 1/2-2 hours.
Serve with good bread.
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