before I forget...

[averygoodun42]

Dinner was not as good as I had hoped it would be. The gravy was a disaster (even using dickgloucester's hints... and I know why, I'm embarrassed to say), the chicken was good, but would have been tons better with gravy, and I didn't add enough red wine to the cabbage. Or perhaps I added it too late (but that's another story). The one good thing was the green beans.

About ten years ago, my parents and I went to a (then) local Lebanese restaurant. What I remember from that evening was the beautiful design of place - with a grand arch, a few rich tapestries in maroon and rust, a large painting of a lebanese cedar, soft yellow light and cozy seating - and the side dish of green beans in tomato sauce. I'm sure everything else in that meals was delicious, but it's the green beans that have stayed with me all this time.

I have been trying to emulate that recipe, from memory, for quite a while now, and tonight I think I finally corrected what I've been doing wrong all these years. Well, that and an accident with the garlic powder made damn sure I didn't under-spice this time round. ;-)

So, it isn't perfect yet, nor measured, but here's a reasonable facsimile of the Lebanese green beans I had so many years ago:

1 6-oz can tomato paste
approx 2 tablespoons olive oil
approx 1 cup water
2-3 teaspoons garlic powder* (fresh, crushed garlic would be better, of course)
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon, possibly more
dash nutmeg
a lot of green beans

In largish pot over medium heat, mix tomato paste and olive oil. Gradually add water until it's a more reasonable consistency for sauce, then add spices. Simmer for a bit. Add green beans about ten minutes before serving time, stir to coat them, lower heat, and cover till done.


Tonight, I added too few green beans for the amount of sauce, and I did things all out of order, but the end result was quite tasty. Just about right, in fact. Yay.

Comments

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

I didn't heat it up high enough before adding the flour, and then I added WAY too much flour. WAY, WAY too much flour. Next time, perhaps, I'll get it right. Maybe. If I'm lucky. ;-)

I love green beans done just about any way, as long as they're not overcooked. Canned green beans = yuck. My most frequent way of doing them is to basically just blanch them in garlic and olive oil and serve them splashed with lemon juice, Yuuuum

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Oh my word, yes - they are tasty like that!

You only need about a heaped dessertspoonful of flour for quite a lot of gravy, in my experience.