Lobio with Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1⅛ lbgreen beansTrim ends, cut into 3–4 cm pieces
• 2Onioncut into thin strips or quarter rings
• 3 clovesgarlicchopped or crushed with salt, added at the end
• 14⅛ ozTomatoespeeled and chopped, or as purée
• ¼ cupvegetable oilfor frying
• 1 bunchcilantrofinely chopped, stirred in at the end
• 1 tspSavorydried (kondari)
• saltfor the cooking water and for seasoning
• black pepperground
• 3½ ozwalnutscoarsely ground, pieces should stay noticeable (optional)
• 1 tspblue fenugreekutskho suneli, ground (optional)
• 1 tspCorianderground (optional)
• 1Green bell pepperseeded, cut into strips (optional)
• 1Green chilifinely chopped, amount depending on heat (optional)
• 1eggwhisked with the tomato purée and poured over (optional)
• 1 ozGheeas an alternative to vegetable oil (optional)
• 2basilsprigs, preferably red basil, chopped (optional)
• 3parsleysprigs, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Sort through the green beans, trim the ends, pull off any tough strings and cut the pods into pieces about 3–4 cm long.
2. Boil the beans briefly in salted water — they should keep some bite. Drain them, saving a little of the cooking water, and refresh the beans under cold water.
3. Cut the onions into thin strips or quarter rings, chop the garlic or crush it with a little salt in a mortar, and finely chop the cilantro along with the basil and parsley if you're using them. Pour hot water over the tomatoes, slip off the skins and chop them small — or have your tomato purée ready.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pan and fry the onions over medium heat until golden. Add the green bell pepper and the chopped chili at this point if you like.
5. Add the beans, pour in the tomatoes and a splash of the reserved cooking water, and let everything braise uncovered over medium heat until the liquid has cooked down. Then cover the pan and let it finish for a few more minutes.
6. Stir in the savory and, if you're using them, the blue fenugreek, ground coriander and coarsely ground walnuts — you want the pieces of nut to stay noticeable. Season with salt and black pepper.
7. Finally, fold in the garlic and the chopped herbs and take the pan off the heat so both stay fresh and bright.
8. Serve warm, scattered with fresh cilantro.

Tips and variations

There are two basic directions here: the tomato version with peeled fresh tomatoes and a little bean cooking water, braised uncovered — and the nut version with no tomato at all, made with coarsely ground walnuts, blue fenugreek, ground coriander, green bell pepper and a hot chili. Instead of vegetable oil you can fry the onions in ghee, though the dish is no longer vegan then. If you want something that holds together more, whisk an egg with tomato purée, pour it over the beans and let it set under a lid without stirring; grated cheese added just before the herbs makes the dish more filling (neither is vegan any more, of course). The garlic tastes rounder and stronger if you crush it with salt in a mortar rather than just chopping it. Serve the beans warm, straight from the pan, with an extra handful of cilantro on top.