Runner Bean Surprise

[Sue]

Hi
Not liking the taste of plain runner beans when they've been frozen I've been trying to come up with ways to freeze the glut and this is one yummy result.

Fry a large onion in olive oil till soft, add chilli to taste and garlic to taste.
Fry a little longer on low heat and add a pack of swedish meatballs.
Add a tin of tomatoes and a big slug of tomato puree and a dash of red wine vinegar.
Let cook for a while and add a huge handfull or two of runner beans that have been through a beaner and then cut in half.

Cook till done, taste and season.

Tastes really good - can eat with crusty bread, mashed potato or pasta.
If you use your own toms and potato then you can feed 4 for the cost of the meatballs - £1.99 and the condiments and elec or gas.

best wishes

Sue

[ckfe]

Hi

Let cook for a while and add a huge handfull or two of runner beans that have been through a beaner and then cut in half.

Sue

what's a beaner?

[Fat Bob]

My old Nan used to have something called a Beaner and it was about the size of a small matchbox with 3 blades in it.

She'd push the end of a runner in and then grab it and pull it out, shredding the bean into 3.

This may or may not be a contemporary Beaner.

I'd love to get hold of the old type.

[Sue]

Hi CKFE
Rather than the old box type I got one called a Krisk, which has the same blad arrangement that slices the bean but it also takes the strings off the sides of the bean at the same time. It has a springed arm on the front and that holds the bean as you push it down over the blades, the strings then come off the sides. I wouldn't be without one, its about 5" long and white plastic, cost around £2-3 and I got mine in Lakeland.

Sue

[OllieMartin]

Beaners (apparently):

[Hilary B]

I know some people have problems with less-than-agile hands, but otherwise, is there really a problem with cutting runners 'on the diagonal' by hand the way my Mum taught me? (must depend on the quantity being prepared of course, there are only 2 of us...)
I get rid of 'strings' when top-and-tailing, if there are any strings. Runners at their best don't really have any.

[OllieMartin]

I made this tonight.

Very nice. For some reason it makes the runner beans actually taste of something! I think perhaps because they're still in the sauce they were cooked in.

5-stars!

[Bren In Pots]

It sounds nice so I've printed off the recipe

I don't have a beaner so I run my potato peeler down the sides of the beans to get rid of those stringy bits.