Romano (Flat) Beans - How Do You Cook Yours?...Here´s A Simple Recipe!

Most of my neighbors in Andalucia plant these beans in their backyards every year and sometimes they give me some when they harvest. Here in Vienna, I get them from a discount supermarket for the frozen pack at a price of 0.99 Euro cents for a kilo.

The beans available in Europe usually come from Italy and Spain where the farmers grow them in plastic tents. I love the italian type because somehow they taste more delicious than the ones from Almeria, Spain. I didn´t realize that there are so many varieties of these flat beans and also the seeds vary as to what are being offered online. If I only run a homestead, I would love to plant different varieties of these beans.

image source: https://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetables/vegetable-seeds/pea-and-bean-seeds If you would like to see what seed varieties are being offered online, you might want to check out the above link.. I am not affiliated with this seedling company whatsoer.

Last year and the year before, I planted the slim variety below in containers and the harvest was not bad to think that they were grown in a limited soil. This season, I´m planning to have the slim variety again and perhaps look for some seeds of the flat romano beans.

Here´s my simple and quick recipe.

Note: If you use the fresh beans, remove the string-like fibrous strand that runs to then length of the pod before cooking.

BRAISED ROMANO BEANS with Pork and Vienna Sausage

Ingredients
Serves 4 portions

1 kilo frozen and cut Romano Beans
300 grams pork filet
2 viennese sausages , cut into bite pieces ( or any sausage of your choice)
soy sauce
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red bell pepper, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
1 tablespoon Philadelphia cream cheese or creme fraíche
500 ml of vegetable broth
1 tablespoon cornflour , diluted in 3 tbsp water
salt and pepper
cooking oil

Preparations

1... Steam the Romano Beans for about 3-5 minutes, remove the steaming basket and place under cold running water to retain its green color, set aside. Cut the pork filet into small pieces and marinate with one tablespoon soy sauce, add a dash of salt and pepper and let stand for about ten minutes.

2... Heat a deep casserole with 2 tbsps cooking oil , fry the meat and the sausage until golden brown in color.... add the crushed garlic, the onion, the bell pepper , stirring occasionally until the onions become limp... Add 1/2 of the vegetable stock, the paprika powder and cream cheese, stirring carefully so that the cheese blends well with the liquid...simmer (under low fire) for about 20 minutes.

3... Combine the diluted cornflour with the rest of the vegetable broth and add this to the casserole stirring slowly and continuously until the liquid becomes thicker. Season with salt and pepper according to your taste. If some of the liquid has evaporated, add a bit of water and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot . Goes well with cooked rice as well as baguette or white bread.

This dish can also be prepared in advance and can be frozen as well.

GIF provided by @gremayo