Grilled and Stewed Romano Beans with Garlic, Tomato and Basil
A simple side dish of grilled and stewed romano beans.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound Romano Beans (green or yellow)
- about 1 tbsp neutral-flavored cooking oil
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 cup good quality, whole canned tomatoes, with their juice (I like Bianco Dinapoli brand)
- 2/3 cup chicken stock or water
- 1 tsp fish sauce or colatura (optional but recommended to add a savory flavor)
- 1/2 cup chiffonade fresh basil (1/4 inch wide chiffonade)
- about 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- kosher salt
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Remove the stems from the romano beans. Wash the beans and pat them dry with a towel.
- Toss the romano beans in the neutral oil and season with salt. Make sure the oil completely coats all of the romano beans in a very thin layer. If you use too much oil, the excess oil could flare up as you grill the beans.***if you do not have a grill, you can sear the beans in a hot skillet until lightly charred on both sides***
- Get your grill very hot and lay the romano beans in one layer on the hottest part of the grill. Allow the romano beans to cook for about 2-4 minutes or until they have started to lightly char.
- Flip the beans and cook them the same way on the other side. remove the beans from the grill and keep them on a plate until ready to add them to the tomato sauce.
- Using clean hands, crush the whole tomatoes (along with the tomato juice) between your fingers so that they form a rustic, chunky tomato sauce. Set aside
- Slice the garlic thinly.
- Heat a large saute pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil and the sliced garlic to the pan. Cook garlic while stirring until it becomes golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
- When the garlic is golden brown, Add the crushed tomato to the pan. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the stock/water, sugar, and fish sauce to the pan. If you are using pine nuts, add them now. Turn the heat down to low and simmer the sauce for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the romano beans and chiffonade basil to the pan and cook at a low simmer for at least 5 minutes and until the beans are very soft and the sauce is no longer watery. If the sauce begins to dry up prematurely, feel free to add a bit more stock or water to adjust the consistency.
- When the beans are done cooking, adjust seasoning with salt if necessary. Plate the beans and sauce on a flat plate and drizzle them with a generous quantity of olive oil, about 3 tbsp. I like to let the beans cool off and "marinate" on the serving plate for at least 10-15 minutes before eating.