Green Beans with Tomatoes

Adapted from Marcella’s Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan (Alfred A. Knopf, 1986)

Serves 4

This can be served either as a vegetable or as a pasta sauce. It is perfect in summer, when the basil is fresh, the green beans are young, and the tomatoes are beautifully ripe. Having said that, I make it in the dead of winter with canned tomatoes, and it is still delicious. This should make enough for four servings of pasta, although that depends on how much pasta you serve per person. It will definitely make enough for four 2-ounce portions, measured dry before cooking. A 2-ounce portion is apparently considered a starter portion in Italy; around here, it is a dinner portion with vegetables or a large salad.

1 400g can Italian peeled plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 pound fresh green beans
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons if using as a pasta sauce
2 teaspoons garlic, cut into thin slivers, or up to 1 tablespoon if using as a pasta sauce
Salt
¼ cup fresh basil leaves

Trim the stem ends from the green beans, leaving the pointed ends intact, and wash the beans in cold water. If using this as a pasta sauce, cut the beans into 2-inch pieces and use penne.

Choose a pan with a lid that will hold all the green beans. I use a 3-quart saucier.

Add the ¼ cup olive oil and the garlic to the pan and turn the heat to medium. Cook until the garlic is pale gold; do not let it brown.

Add the tomatoes, raise the heat, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the green beans, lower the heat to medium, season with salt, and cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes.

If the juices in the pan are watery when the beans are done, remove the beans with a slotted spoon, raise the heat, and cook until the excess liquid has evaporated.

If serving as a vegetable, return the beans to the pan, mix in the basil leaves, and serve.

If using this as a pasta sauce, do not add the basil to the pan. When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss it with the beans and all the contents of the pan. Add the basil leaves, toss again, drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and serve immediately.

Variation Using Fresh Tomatoes

In summer, when the tomatoes are glorious, substitute 1 pound very ripe fresh tomatoes for the canned tomatoes. If using this as a pasta sauce, increase the tomatoes to 1½ pounds.

Add the tomatoes to a pot of boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 1 minute. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes and cut them into large pieces. Proceed with the recipe, substituting the fresh tomatoes for the canned.