Braised Green Beans with Garlic and Tomato
Try this Braised Green Beans with Garlic and Tomato recipe
Try this Braised Green Beans with Garlic and Tomato recipe
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- black pepper to taste
- 1 lb fresh green beans ends trimmed
- 2 teaspoons fresh garlic minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes with juice i use petite dice tomatoes
- 8 - 10 kalamata olives coarsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers next time i might use 2 t
- 2 teaspoons fresh basil thinly sliced, optional
- Carbohydrate 10.4118325 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 2.661481 g
- Fiber 4.38654010303318 g
- Protein 2.49333875 g
- Saturated Fat 0.375132725 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (166g)
- Sodium 247.16055 mg
- Sugar 6.02529239696681 g
- Trans Fat 0.1386035 g
- Calories 66 calories
Step-by-step
- Trim or cut ends from greens beans. (I do this by standing up a handful of beans, letting them fall down to the cutting board so ends are lined up, then trimming across the end with a knife; repeat with the other end.) Coarsely chop the Kalamata olives and mince the garlic.
- Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet with a lid, using medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook about 1 minute, just until the garlic is getting fragrant. Add the beans and stir until beans are all coated with the hot oil.
- Add the canned tomatoes with juice, chopped Kalamata olives, capers, and 2 T water. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until beans are just starting to get tender. I checked them and stirred a few times. (If you have bigger beans, they will take a little longer to cook.)
- When beans are barely tender, remove lid, raise heat to medium, and cook cook until any remaining liquid is evaporated, probably not longer than a minute or two. (Add the thinly sliced fresh basil now if you're using it.) Season beans with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and serve hot.
Scaling the skillet volume
Can this recipe be doubled safely in a standard twelve-inch pan? Doubling dense vegetable preparations often creates overcrowding, which traps steam and prevents the tomatoes from reducing properly against the bottom of the vessel. Working in batches prevents uneven steaming if your pan lacks the surface area to let one pound of green beans rest in a single, uncrowded layer with the garlic and olives. Whenever you increase the quantity of canned tomatoes and briny capers proportionally, monitor the initial two tablespoons of added water closely because extra vegetables release their own internal moisture during the early stages of the simmer.Understanding braising technique
Braising green beans diverges sharply from rapid boiling or steaming by relying on a covered environment to soften tough structural fibers while simultaneously concentrating acidic tomato juices. Cooking these vegetables slowly over low heat for twenty minutes breaks down cellulose without destroying their vibrant green pigment entirely, provided the lid remains tightly sealed during the bulk of the process. Uncovering the skillet during the final two minutes allows excess surface moisture to flash off rapidly over medium heat, ensuring the olive oil and garlic coat the legumes evenly rather than pooling in a watery broth.Mediterranean roots
Traditional Greek lathera dishes rely on slow-simmering vegetables in olive oil and tomatoes until tender. Olives and capers provide natural saltiness.
