With leaves already turning yellow and red in Seattle, berries, beans and peppers are leaving their spots to pumpkins and apples. Romano beans braised in olive oil, served cold, is the dish that encapsulates summer for me. I wanted to share this recipe to thank this summer for all the great adventures and officially say goodbye to it with a big hug.

I wrote about the Turkish tradition of cooking vegetables in olive oil in a previous post about cooking fava beans. These “olive oil dishes” are almost always served cold to help fight the summer heat and add a refreshing, light meal to the table. Without a doubt, this romano bean dish is a classic summer meal that visits the tables of every Turkish household. Dishes like this one is a great example of home cooking that you can’t easily find at any restaurant.

Romano beans are also known as Italian green beans and are much wider and flatter than your common green beans. In the United States I can only find them at the farmers markets during summer. I highly recommend using romano beans for this recipe but if you can’t find them most other fresh green beans will work as well.

In the next few weeks, as I get myself ready to welcome fall, expect to see more and more soups and stews on the blog. I will also ramp up posting desserts as the holidays approach. Dear fall, long time no see, bring on the blankets, cozy sweaters, rain boots and lots of festive meals.

Yields: 4 servings Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 pound romano beans

2 tomatoes

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup water

Pinch of pepper

Preparation

1. Cut the ends of the romano beans and give them a good rinse.

2. Put the olive oil in a pot.

3. Dice the onion and add into the pot. Turn the heat to high and cook the onions, stirring a couple of times, for 2-3 minutes until they are translucent.  

4. Dice the tomatoes and add them into the pot. Give everything a stir. If you have the time I recommend peeling the tomatoes first. 

5. Add in the romano beans. Some people prefer to cut them in half both leghtwise and widthwise. I prefer to keep them whole as this preserves their shape better. 

6. Add in the teaspoon of salt and sugar and a cup of water and give everything a stir.

7. Turn the heat to low and let cook for about 45 minutes with the lid closed. 

8. When cooked, the beans should be soft but they should preserve their shape. Transfer them to a serving container. Let it cool to room temperature and then place in the fridge. Serve the beans room temperature or ideally, cold with some slices of bread to dip into the juices.