String Bean Provencal

This is the French way to cook green beans: slowly, in a sauce, until they’re soft all the way through. No crisp-tender here. These string beans braise in a thick plum tomato sauce with onion, garlic, and thyme for 25 to 35 minutes until they’ve absorbed the sauce and turned silky.

Four medium onions for two pounds of beans might seem like a lot, but they cook down dramatically during the covered simmer. After eight minutes of softening, they practically melt into the tomato sauce and become part of the background, adding sweetness and body.

Breaking the canned plum tomatoes with the back of a spoon rather than chopping them beforehand gives you irregular chunks that break down at different rates. Some dissolve into the sauce, others hold their shape as soft, recognizable tomato pieces. That variation in texture makes the finished dish more interesting.

A pinch of sugar balances the acidity of the canned tomatoes without making the sauce sweet.

Kitchen Tips

• Use Italian plum tomatoes in thick puree, not in watery juice. The thick puree clings to the beans better and doesn’t need as much reducing.
• Trim and halve the string beans so they fit neatly in the pot and cook evenly.
• Stir occasionally during the covered simmer to prevent the beans on the bottom from scorching.
• This tastes even better at room temperature the next day, making it a great make-ahead side dish.

Variations

• Add a handful of Niçoise olives in the last 10 minutes for a more distinctly Provençal character.
• Stir in a tablespoon of capers for briny pops throughout.
• Scatter toasted pine nuts on top before serving for a nutty crunch.