Yummy!

My men were not really enjoying the plain runner beans I was cooking for them so I asked the allotment group for some new ideas. The first I was sent was Slow Cooked Runner Beans in Tomato Sauce (a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi) which I adapted to suit our taste and also to use up some other allotment vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 500g runner beans, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 2cm pieces
• 6 medium tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 500ml vegetable stock
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Put the oil into a large lidded sauté pan on a medium-high heat. Add the shallots and fry gently for eight minutes, stirring, until they start to colour and soften.
• Add the crushed garlic, cumin, cayenne, paprika and nutmeg, and cook for two minutes, stirring. Add the tomato paste, cook for a minute, then add the beans, tomatoes, stock, half a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper.
• Turn down the heat to medium, cover the pan and leave to simmer for an hour (remove the lid for the final 15 to 30 minutes), until the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce and the beans are soft.
• Serve warm, topped with gremolata if you wish.

The photo shows what I made from the recipe but I added not only runner beans but courgette and potatoes all from the allotment! I also added curry powder and yes, my hubby ate it and enjoyed it! Yippee!

Submitted by Mandy, plots 11A & 14A