Green Beans ​in Olive Oil

Wash the beans then top and tail them. Cut the beans in half if they are very long.

Peel the tomatoes by immersing them in boiling water for a few minutes and then in cold water. The skins will then peel off easily. Chop the tomatoes into cubes.

Peel and finely chop the onions.

Place the chopped onions and tomatoes into a pot along with the salt and knead with one hand to combine and to release some of the tomato juice.

Place the beans on top.

Pour over the olive oil and put the lid on.

Cook gently over a medium heat for 10 minutes and then turn down to low.

Every 15 - 20 minutes hold the lid on tight and shake the pot to distribute the contents for more even cooking. Try to avoid opening the pot at the early stages.

Depending on the bean that is used, this dish can take between 1 hour to 2 hours to cook as no water is added. It is only relying on the juice released from the vegetables to cook. 

The beans are cooked when they are very tender and have lost the raw flavour, only add water if they run dry and are not cooked yet. For best results put the pan on in the morning while doing other things and go back from time to time to give the pot a shake. 

At the end of the cooking remove the lid and let the beans simmer gently for 10 minutes. This will concentrate the flavour and make the beans more delicous.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve at room temperature.

Traditionally, whole beans are used but I've successfully made this dish many times with cut frozen beans, use them straight from the freezer.