Lately, I have been working in the garden in the mornings. I found that the sun is softer, and the areas needing work are shadier. Early this morning, I picked some green beans to serve with Monday’s Pepper Rasam. Later that morning, I returned to the garden and started pottering around, feeding the plants with compost and staking up a few bean bushes – to my surprise, despite thinking I had picked all the beans earlier, I found myself walking away with another handful. The thing with beans, and even cucumbers to a lesser extent, is that you need time and patience when harvesting them. There is much happiness to be had in rummaging through the leaves in search of their elegant, dangling pods. When you think you have picked them all, there’s still more hiding behind their foliage. It’s important to approach the plant from different angles and heights, squatting down to their level; even then, you can still miss a few…
I planted a few varieties of beans this season: romano pole beans, small French finger bush beans, and a long climbing snake bean. For the first time, I planted another climbing variety in a pot on our balcony so that it could climb up the iron gate outside our kitchen door.
I have been staggering the sowing for a continuous supply, late May or early June, then another crop in July, and again in the last week of July. The hot season seems to come later each year, enabling another harvest before the cooler weather hits by early November.
The better quality and fresher the beans, the better tasting this recipe.
serve with
pepper rasam, simple dal or Pongal.
steamed green beans
Steaming beans, rather than boiling, helps keep their colour and flavour.
preparation 10 minutes
serves 3
ingredients
350g green beans
2 Tbsp ghee
freshly ground pepper
Himalayan salt
preparation
- Wash the beans and trim the ends. Leave them whole or cut them in half.
- Set a steaming basket in a medium saucepan filled with 1 – 2 inches of water. Once boiling, simmer over high heat for 5 – 7 minutes, depending on how tender or crisp you like them.
- Discard the water in the saucepan. Add the beans and ghee and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Serve and enjoy!
Goodness shared from Stacey
