Green beans are something that almost everyone likes. Even as children, we tolerated canned green beans and the slimy ones they served with school lunches. And who can say no to green beans at Thanksgiving with all those yummy crunchy things and soup concentrate in them (actually, I can). Here in the north of Italy, green bean season is just about to end. The ones you see in the market now just aren’t as pretty as the ones a few weeks ago and pretty soon you won’t see them around anymore. I’ll miss them because they are the one vegetable every member of my family likes and I don’t have to hear any whining when I serve them. On the other hand, green beans can become a little tedious. I always serve them with olive oil and salt or if I’m feeling wacky I’ll add some balsamic vinegar. Don’t you think the green bean deserves more than that? Sometimes I do and I dress them up real fancy, like the recipe I’ll share with you today and sometimes I even throw them into the tomato sauce recipe of yesterday and serve them over pasta or rice. There’s actually a lot you can do with them, you just have to get out of the rut. If anyone out there has other ways to fancy up a green bean (unless it’s that casserole thing) please share it with us. Three cheers for the green bean!

Green Beans Fiorentina
1 ½ to 2 lbs of green beans
2 cups of crushed tomatoes
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
salt and pepper

Chop or break the ends off the green beans and put into a large pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Thinly slice the onion, leaving it in ½ circles. Put the oil in a large skillet or dutch oven and heat over medium heat and then add the onion. Sautee until the onions soften and them add the tomatoes and the green beans. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir it up and cover and continue to cook on a low flame for another 10-15 minutes. Add water if the pan dries up while its simmering. Serve it hot.

The original recipe for this calls for the addition of anise seeds. I personally can’t stand them so naturally I ignore that, but if you like them, throw in 1 tsp when you are adding all the ingredients for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

I also want to mention that cooking times for green beans always varies with their size and type. I like mine barely cooked, but the rest of Italy disagrees with me and likes theirs really cooked, so I guess its just a matter of personal preference. Keep an eye on them and use these cooking times only as a guide. Bon Apetito!