“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” —Alfred Austin
This recipe is from Sami Tamimi’s new cookbook, Boustany. Boustany is an ode to Tamimi’s Palestinian roots and to Palestinian vegetable cooking in particular. If you are wondering, the word boustan translates to the word garden and Tamimi dedicates this cookbook to his grandfather and to fond memories of time spent in his grandfather’s garden.
I can certainly relate. My garden is a special refuge in my life. There, “head in the sun, heart with nature” I find peace and beauty and more than a bit of refuge from the struggles in our world today. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by good friends whose love of nature matches my own. Here is a vase of rose blooms from the garden of my good friends Carole and Maria.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Wax Beans With Leek and Tomato
Ingredients
- 1/4 C. olive oil
- 3 leeks (thinly sliced)
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 large carrot (peeled and thinly-sliced)
- 4 large garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
- 1 large green chile (finely chopped)
- 2 t. tomato paste
- 1 lb. yellow wax beans (or fresh green beans--cut into 3 inch long pieces)
- 3 large tomatoes (cubed)
- 7 T. water
- 1 t. ground cumin
- mint sprigs for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Saute sliced leeks in hot oil with 1/4 t. salt over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir as you saute. You want leeks to be soft but not browned.
- Step 2 Add carrot, garlic and chile to the leek mixture and saute for 2-3 minutes more. Add tomato paste and beans. Saute for about 3 minutes.
- Step 3 Add tomatoes, water, cumin,1 1/2 t. salt, and black pepper. Bring the vegetable mixture to a boil. Lower heat and cover with a lid. Cook for about 25 minutes more (on low heat) until the sauce thickens.(Add a bit more water if necessary.)
- Step 4 Remove from heat and cool. Serve at room temperature.
