Runner beans fresh tomato, cinnamon, bay and dried orange peel

Runner beans fresh tomato, cinnamon, bay and dried orange peel

Recipe by Marianna Leivaditaki
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

I love dried orange peel. The only kitchen I really saw it in was in Thia Koula’s house. She was fanatic about it and she always had quite a lot hanging from various things in her kitchen but usually from door handles and cupboard knobs. She would offer me oranges all the time but only if she prepared them for me. She would get her little knife from her apron’s pocket and carefully begin by removing a very thin layer of orange starting from the very top of the fruit and moving down in a circular way, right to the bottom. She would always do it perfect so I never saw her break the spiralling peel shape not even once. It took me a long time to master this. She then let it dry until it was really hard and shrivelled and then would add it to most tomato based meat stews. The aroma is still there even just by thinking about it.

Ingredients

  • 500grams fresh ripe tomatoes (chopped)

  • 300grams trimmed runner beans

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • 5 fresh bay leaves

  • 1 teaspoon of dried oregano

  • 1 cinnamon stick

  • A plash of red wine

  • Dried orange peel from 1 orange

  • Olive oil

  • Salt & pepper

Directions

  • Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
  • Chop the garlic and add it to the oil together with the bay, oregano, cinnamon and orange peel.
  • When the garlic begins to colour add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
  • Place a lid on the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes.
  • Add the splash of wine and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to look like a sauce.
  • Add the beans and a little water and cook gently until the beans are really soft and the sauce is thick and rich.
  • Check for seasoning and serve.