Turkish beans, tomatoes and cumin
- Details
- By Jo Ingleby
Method
Prepare the beans by slicing along their length with a peeler to remove the string. Slice the beans into rough 2cm slices. Heat olive oil in a large pan with a lid and dry fry the cumin seeds for a few minutes. They are ready when they begin to smell fragrant, the colour darkens slightly and they make a ticking noise. Transfer the seeds to a pestle and mortar and lightly grind so that some of the seeds become powder but some remain whole and set aside. Reheat the pan and warm the oil for a minute before adding the onions. Cook until they are soft and caramelised. Remove half of the onions and set aside on kitchen paper to use to garnish the dish. Add the garlic and half of the cumin to the remaining onions and fry until golden. Add tomatoes, half the lemon juice and sugar then simmer until the tomatoes have broken down and become soft. Add the flat beans and stock and stir well.
Place the lid on the pan and raise the temperature. Simmer the dish for anything from 10 minutes (for crunchy beans) to 40 minutes (for silky soft beans). Season to taste with the remaining lemon juice, salt, pepper and sumac or paprika. This dish is traditionally served cold with crusty bread.
