Veg to Table: Runner Beans
I love everything about the summer — genuinely, every single part of this absolute hot mess of a season fills me with joy. From the balmy long days to the relentlessly sticky sleepless nights, from bare legs and sandals to unfortunate tan lines, I welcome it all with appreciative clammy arms.
Of course, I can understand why not everyone enjoys the intensity that these high summer months can bring — my mother, for one, has never claimed to be a fan of the overwhelming heat, while I imagine things aren’t always so peachy for anyone going through the menopause, heavily pregnant folk or those particularly prone to burning. But I find I can only revel in the sweltering weather, knowing that it will often be all too short-lived. It forces us to slow down and stop, to starfish on the bed and lie still, to pop to the shop for a can of Lilt and a Calippo, and to just calm down much more than we’re usually expected to.
In the kitchen, we’re also compelled to be less fussy. It’s simply too hot to be leaning over pots of slow-cooking meat or guarding the oven while something grills, which means our diet changes to reflect this. I spend the months eating simple pasta dishes, fresh and easy salads and stuff on toast (tomatoes, sardines, you name it). Sometimes I might muster the energy to roast a chicken to plonk in the middle of the table, knowing it won’t need a bubbling pot of gravy or towering Yorkshire puddings to go alongside it, but instead plates of dressed lentils, peppery rocket and sliced tomatoes — but generally, I’m just happy with anything that’s light, straight-forward and colourful, as with these runner bean ideas.
Braised Runner Beans
This dish is one I make often, as it can be adapted easily depending on how you serve it. I love cooking up a huge pot of it in the summertime to serve as a simple, light meal throughout the week — alongside olive oil-roasted potatoes or rice, baked with eggs like shakshuka or even just a chunk of bread.
The first time I made it was after going for a drink with my friend, having met him at a bar with a bag full of fresh vegetables from the nearby greengrocers, holding out a handful of runner beans that I was particularly proud of. He told me that his Greek mother would braise them down in a tomato sauce, which instantly stuck out to me as something I’d enjoy, and set about researching recipes — finding not only the Fasolakia Giaxni dish my friend had mentioned, but also variations on the theme in countries across Europe, including the Lebanese dish Loubieh Bi Zeit.
My end result is inspired by the former, with nods to Greece through cinnamon, oregano and mint, along some crumbled feta for those who aren’t dairy-averse.
1 onion (chopped)
400g runner beans
1 clove of garlic (skinned and bashed with the side of a knife)
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1 tin plum or chopped tomatoes
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 vegetable stock cube (or use 2 of the diddy Maggi cubes, which I swear by)
1 tin chickpeas (optional)
Small handful of fresh mint, chopped
Feta (optional)
Fry the onion in a good amount of olive oil over a low heat. While it’s cooking, remove the stringy sides to each runner bean using a peeler along with the tops and tails, before cutting on the bias into inch-long pieces. When the onion is turning translucent, toss in the runner beans, along with the garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and crushed fennel seeds.
Add the chopped tomatoes — if using plum tomatoes, which I usually prefer, push each down with a spoon to break them up slightly — along with all of the herbs and spices, including the stock cube, which you can just crumble straight in.
Leave everything to blip away on a low-to-medium heat for 30-45 minutes or so, until the beans have softened. You want a fairly reduced sauce, but keep adding splashes of water if things become too thick.
If using, drain the tin of chickpeas and throw them in, leaving to cook for another 5–10 minutes.
Serve with bread, rice or potatoes, topping with the fresh mint and optional crumbled feta.
Runner Beans Bhaji
I like the sound of this bhaji dish from blogger Salma Rahman, who originally posted it in June last year — not least because it taught me that ‘bhaji’ is not only a term used for a deep-fried battered snack, but also fried vegetable dishes.
Rahman describes her recipe as a ‘Bangladeshi style, simple vegetable Bhaji perfect for days you’re too busy to cook time consuming dishes’, and either serves it on its own with plain white rice or as a side to other dishes.
Incidentally, if it’s a battered bhaji you’re after instead, you can find Rosie Birkett’s recipe for that on the BBC Good Food website.
Runner Beans and Charred Leeks with Vinaigrette
Birkett has dreamt up another solid runner bean side dish, also available via BBC Good Food, which pairs runner beans and leeks with a sharp mustard, anchovy and herb dressing. I imagine it would work well as a light lunch on its own, and that the vinaigrette could also be used as a zingy salad dressing elsewhere.
Runner Bean Chutney
Like French beans, runner beans also make a great pickle or chutney. I’ve found a recipe from Lavender and Lovage (aka Karen Burns-Booth), who writes of her creation: “Think Piccalilli but sweeter and milder and with less crunch, think mellow and yet subtly spiced, think ‘FAB with cheese and charcuterie’ and you are on the right track with this classic pickle recipe.”
You can also find a similar approach from Delia Smith, who was given her recipe—originally published in the 1986 Food Aid Cookbook — by Kathleen Field. Smith explains: “She said then, ‘There comes a time in late summer when the family say, “Oh, not runner beans again.” Well, they must be picked, and here’s what to do with them.’ We’ve been doing just that with ours each year since then and the chutney is now a firm favourite.”
Charred Runner Beans with Lemon and Yoghurt
If you’ve got the BBQ out, try Anna Jones’ charred runner beans dish, which she bills as a ‘super-simple recipe that sings of summer’ and serves with a lemon and Greek yoghurt dip. If you haven’t got a BBQ or griddle pan to hand, Jones says you’ll be fine using a dry frying pan instead.