Green beans and Tomatoes stew

Every time I make this dish, I feel like I am home. This is the dish made by thousands of Lebanese homemakers on a weekly basis and in multiple variations

It is part of the vegan dishes that people eat especially when fasting. It  is eaten at room temperature. It can be a frugal and delicious dinner on a hot summer day, along with some whole wheat pita bread and a bowl of olives. I have stuffed it in bread for a on-the-go lunch. It can be prepared ahead of time as part of a mezze for a party.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs of green beans, fresh or frozen. If fresh, remove the strings on the side and cut off the ends

2 lbs of fresh vine tomatoes or best quality Italian canned tomatoes, chopped up

1 lb of onions, chopped

1 whole head of garlic peeled , taking 6 cloves and mashing them with a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes or 1 or 2 red chili peppers (optional)

salt, white  pepper, to taste and a dash of sugar

1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil (up to 1/2 cup)

METHOD:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and fry the onions until they turn golden about 10 minutes. Add the green beans and saute them alongside the onions stirring from time to time, about 20 minutes or so.
• Add the cut up tomatoes, the spices and the garlic cloves and the chili peppers if using  and stir.  Cover and let it simmer gently, stirring from time to time until the beans cook and soften well, about 20 minutes.  Stir in the mashed garlic and mix it well to spread it throughout the mixture. Add 1/2 cup of  hot water (or more) to the mixture and simmer uncovered an additional 15 minutes. When the water has almost completely evaporated, turn off the heat and set the skillet aside to cool. Transfer to a serving platter and serve at room temperature with some pita bread on the side. Sahteyn!

NOTE:

The idea here is to cook the loobyeh to death. It should be limp and meltingly tender. A Kurdish cook that I know likes to add red chili peppers to this dish and it is a lovely addition, although not traditional. She also told me that it is a good idea to cut the green beans horizontally in half in order to release their flavor. I confess I have not had the patience to try this and in the States I prefer to use frozen green beans because the fresh ones that I have used have always been rather tough.

Also, if you are using fresh green beans and they are tough, it is a good idea to blanch them for a few minutes in boiling water or even steam them for that matter. Then you can saute them in the onion and oil mixture.