August Recipe – Courgette, green beans and tomatoes

This month is when the produce really starts to take off and we get those duller days when we’re sick of salad and want something earthier and warmer. So I like to use the glut of green beans with the start of the courgette glut and early tomatoes as a side dish to poached fish, or any fish for that matter. This recipe is slightly spicy and very tasty.

Spicy (or curried) courgettes with green beans and cherry tomatoes

serves 2

1 courgette

100g French beans

8 cherry tomatoes

1clove garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

knob of butter

1 tsp ground cumin or cumin seeds

a pinch of cayenne pepper

1tbsp tomato puree

fresh herbs – basil, thyme, or marjoram

seasoning to taste

Top and tail the beans and cut them into 2cm lengths. Boil them in salted water for 5 minutes and drain. Cut the tomatoes in half, chop the garlic finely and slice the courgette. Heat the oil and butter in a pan and add the tomatoes, garlic, courgette, cumin and pepper. Toss for a few minutes and the courgette is cooked through and add the beans and the tomato puree. Cook for a few moments until warmed through. Check seasoning and add hebs.

This makes a good curry side dish by adding curry powder or turmeric and garam masala and substituting fresh coriander for the herbs.