Braised Green Beans With Garlic Confit and Herbs
HELPFUL TIP: It’s preferable to buy whole beans and stir clear from trimmed or pre-packaged beans. No matter the color or the variety, you need to prep them by trimming them. Make sure you do this just before you need to use them as they tend to oxidise and dry out quickly. Before trimming them, you need to sort them out first, making sure you remove the damaged ones. When you’re left with whole, undamaged ones, you can gather a handful of them at the time. Line up their stems and then trim them off with a knife. Discard the stems, and set the cut beans off to the side.
SERVES 6
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh string beans trimmed
- Salt
- 3 Tbsp extra-virgin Greek olive oil
- 6 large garlic cloves crushed with the side of a knife and peeled
- 4 medium firm ripe tomatoes, diced or coarsely grated, with juices
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves optional
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and blanch the beans for 3 minutes. Remove and rinse in a colander under cold running water.
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In a large, wide pot or deep skillet warm the olive oil over very low heat. Add the garlic. Cover and cook over very low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the garlic softens and colors lightly. Be careful not to burn. Add the tomatoes. Uncover, raise the heat, and let some of the tomato juices boil off.
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Add the green beans and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and cook all together over low heat for about 10 more minutes. Add the herbs, toss, and cook, covered for another 2-3 minutes. Remove and serve.