Tomatoey Beans

I used to have a weird feeling that beans shouldn’t be cooked with tomatoes. And the same for tuna and tomatoes. And then I went to Italy and had two dishes in the one meal that blew away both of those preconceptions. To take it a step further I wanted to celebrate my liberation from tomato prejudice and serve not only tomatoes and beans but tomatoes and tuna in the one dish!

enough for: 2
Takes: 20 minutes
4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can tomatoes (400g / 14oz) chopped
450g (1lb) green beans, stalk ends trimmed.
1 can tuna (or sardines!)

1. Melt butter in a medium pot and cook garlic 15-30 seconds.

2. Add the tomatoes and beans. Cook covered on a med high heat, stirring every few minutes. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the beans are just past being crunchy.

3. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot beans with tuna (or sardines) on top.

Variations

vegan – serve with black olives instead of the tuna. And replace butter with extra virgin olive oil.

vegetarian – serve beans with a poached egg or 2. Or replace tuna with crumbled feta or a dollop of ricotta.

dairy-free – replace butter with olive oil.

carnivore – brown some minced (ground) beef, sliced chicken breast or thighs, or crumbled sausages in the butter before adding the tomatoes.

more substantial – add a drained can of beans or chickpeas with the tomatoes or serve with crusty sourdough or toast.

different veg – asparagus, sliced zucchini, cooked dried beans such as cannellini, shelled broad beans, shelled borlotti beans. Also great with cooked lentils.

more veg – toss in a bag of baby spinach at the end to wilt down.