Bean and courgette casserole

Tuesdays are normally salad nights. That is, we have salad for dinner in our efforts at a healthier lifestyle, however, I sill had some of the lovely French beans left over, a few baby courgettes and lots of young runner beans from my last PYO escapade. They'd gone a bit limp, but were otherwise unharmed after the long stay in the fridge. But needed to be used up pretty much ASAP. So I planned ahead this morning and flicked through my Bulgarian National Cuisine book to find something suitable. And I did - green bean stew.



But as often is the case, the recipes in the book are just to get me started, I always end up adding more things. Besides, it recommends serving every dish with yogurt on top and that's just not right.

Ingredients

4 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 medium onions
2 cans (400 g) plum tomatoes
2 dl boiling water
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp crushed chillies
500 g courgettes
250 g French beans
250 g runner beans
1 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp chopped parsley
salt to taste

Method

1. Peel and dice the onions


2. Cut off any stalks, wash and cut the beans in 2-3 cm long pieces.


3. Trim, wash and slice the courgettes.


4. Heat up the oil on medium heat and fry the onion until it goes translucent.


5. Blend the tomatoes and add to the onion, then add the boiling water, paprika and crushed chillies and stir in well.


6. When it starts bubbling, add the beans and the courgettes, cover and let simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.


7. Sprinkle the flour to thicken a bit.


8. Add the parsley and salt, stir and it's ready to serve.

Today I also put in a packet of Swedish meatballs to get them heated through. Unfortunately I did this after I'd cooked the casserole, so the courgettes went a bit yellowy and over-cooked.

Overall, the combo worked OK and as carbs, we had some of the tiny bread buns I baked the other day. I think that Bulgarian meatballs would work better. Of course the bean casserole would work well on it's own as well. The book has some 20 other recipes where the main vegetable is varied only, so alternatives are endless.