Middle Eastern Green Beans and Tomatoes

Kumquat the Cat's friend's Note:

Green beans and tomatoes are a terrific combination which I found out when my BF and I ordered this dish at a middle eastern restaurant a few years ago. It can be found in Italian cuisine as well but I prefer the middle eastern (Lebanese) variety. This is a meatless version which I adapted from a recipe off the internet and like to serve over rice or couscous, making a light meal or more substantial side dish. The idea is to cook until the beans are in between soft and crisp so they have a nice consistency that goes well with the tomatoes. If you have no problem with inauthenticity, sprinkle with parmesan cheese too and you'll get the best of both worlds.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 cup long grain rice , cooked according to package directions
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion , finely chopped
• 1 lb green beans , trimmed and cut in half
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 4 large tomatoes, chopped or 28 ounces canned chopped tomatoes , drained
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ cup parsley (optional)

Directions:

1. Begin cooking rice.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute onions about 5 minutes.
3. Add green beans and saute about 8-10 minutes.
4. Add garlic and saute 1 minute.
5. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, allspice and sugar and bring to boil. At this point if you feel the mixture is too dry you can add up to 1/4 cup of water.
6. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes.
7. Serve over warm rice with parsley sprinkled on top if desired.

Reviews

[UmmBinat]

Very good for DD1 (4 years old) and I but I did use Baharat Aka Middle East Mixed Spices - the Real Mix instead of allspice which is a common substitution I make, I also used a larger quantity. I omitted the sugar to be healthier and used frozen green beans and a bit of extra garlic. I did not add the pepper as there was already a significant amount in the spice mix and I added sea salt, to taste, not measure. I did not think the parsley would go well with this so I didn't use that option. Like others I had to add the additional water but that may be because I used drained canned tomatoes rather than fresh ones. I served this over rice as a main vegetarian dish. I would make this again for myself but not DH as he doesn't like green beans.

[ummrabiah]

This was a terrific side dish and I didn't even add in the allspice.

[morgainegeiser]

This was easy enough to put together and I really liked the flavors. Only thing I would do next time is not serve it over rice as recommended. I liked it better just as a nice green bean side dish. Made for ZWT6