Braised Romano Beans with Lemon and Feta reminds you that spring is suddenly here. So bright, so fresh, so bold!
I love braising vegetables in olive oil – they collapse and transform into the most silky and languid versions of themselves. I first discovered this technique in a recipe for Eggplant Confit, which I stumbled upon while searching for eggplant recipes one summer when copious Asian eggplants were popping out of the garden. I tried the recipe, and I was gobsmacked. I’d never experienced such a pure expression of eggplant-ness. It was as exquisite as baba ganouj, but more substantial and rich. So satisfying.
A simpler way to treat your veg with love is to simply melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan, add your veg, a pinch of salt, and 1/4 cup of water. Cover, and poach until the water steams away. You’re left with perfectly cooked, butter-infused vegetables. It’s a quick braise, of sorts.
This recipe for Braised Romano Beans with Lemon and Feta follows in this vein – the vegetables are sauteed in oil before you add the broth and begin the braise. You must use Romano beans in this recipe. Romanos are large wide, meaty green beans that can stand up to this long cooking technique. String beans would simply fall apart and disappear like the eggplant does in Eggplant Confit, but Romano beans become silky and soft, while retaining some body. The casarecce pasta is similar in shape and size to the beans, so they play nicely together. The shrimp is optional, but if you opt to include it, roasting the sweet shrimp adds some smokiness and meatiness, a lovely contrast to the beans and casarecce. Please don’t, not even for a moment, think of using bottled lemon juice in this dish. Finishing the dish with fresh lemon juice, herbs, and a shower of creamy feta is sublime. Braised Romano Beans with Lemon and Feta brings big, bold, bright flavors to your table – here comes the sun!
Braised Romano Beans with Lemon and Feta
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 pound Romano beans
- 1 lemon
- 2 T fresh parsley leaves
- 12 ounces uncooked shrimp (16/20) (OPTIONAL)
- 7 T olive oil, divided (1 T for oiling the shrimp and 6 T for the veg braise)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ¾ cup gluten-free casarecce
- 1 T dried oregano
- 4 ounces crumbled feta
Instructions
- Preheat the oven; prep the vegetables – Preheat the oven to 400℉, convection roast setting. Peel and chop the onion. Peel and grate the garlic. Trim and cut the green beans into 2-inch pieces. Zest and juice the lemon. Wash and chop the parsley, enough for 2 T in the dish and a bit more for garnish before serving.
- Prep and roast the shrimp (if using)– Peel and devein the shrimp, then remove the tail. Toss the shrimp with 1 T olive oil and salt it generously. Lay it out in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, and roast until opaque and curled into a C shape, turning once during roasting. Stash in a warming oven until you're ready to assemble the dish.
- Cook the veg – Add 6 T oil to a skillet, and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the grated garlic, and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add the green beans and salt and pepper, stirring in the oil until the beans are glistening. Then pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn to medium-low, and braise the beans in the broth until very tender.
- Cook the pasta in the broth – Remove the lid and stir in the pasta with another ½ t salt. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until the pasta is cooked through. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice and herbs.
- Assemble and serve – Nestle the warm shrimp (if using) into the beans and press pieces of feta into the sauce to warm it, or just sprinkle the cheese if it's already crumbled. Sprinkle with lemon zest, a drizzle of olive oil, and more fresh parsley. Serve in big bowls.
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