So, I actually didn't get a chance to make this. The fresh green beans at the grocery store were limp and sad, and we were out of the good kind of frozen ones that we buy at Trader Joe's. However, here is the method my auntie used when she made them for me. It is most often served as a side dish, but can be a vegetarian main dish, if you like, especially with salads or other vegetable or legume dishes served with it.

good olive oil
2 pounds green beans, fresh or frozen, trimmed and stringed
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
2 chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (whole, drained, and crushed by hand - save the liquid for other dishes or soup)
juice of 1 lemon, strained
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 bunch cilantro, leaves only, minced (save stems for soup or stock or another cooked dish)

Heat a large skilled over medium high heat until hot. Add a generous amount of olive oil, and cook onions until softened. Add green beans and cook until al dente, just a couple minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes. Stir in and heat; season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle lemon juice over the top. Serve the dish from the pan or in a shallow serving dish.

In another frying pan or small skillet, quickly fry garlic and cilantro in more olive oil and pour over the serving vessel while it is still sizzling. Eat as a side dish with a meat dish, or bulk up with other vegetarian dishes as a meatless meal, and rice, scooping up the fassoliya with hot bread (like Khoubz Araby, Turkish Flatbreads, Persian Barbari Bread, or 'Aish Baladi) if you can.

Labels: Fasting as a Family, Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 2:29 PM