String beans with cumin and coriander

So many cooks have riffed on Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s recipe for String Bean Salad from their Jerusalem Cook Book, and it’s no surprise—the recipe, and the book, are fabulous. The original is served at room temperature and is a veritable explosion of flavors on the tongue.

This Rosh Hashanah side dish is yet another take on that now famous recipe. While the original is superb, this modified version works perfectly with my holiday menu and is a bit simpler in that it contains the beans with their herbs and spices, but without the roasted peppers.

Whole coriander and cumin seeds have a very different impact than do their powdered versions, and their use is critical here. Combined with fresh leafy herbs and briny capers, these string beans are anything but boring. If you can find wax beans, they add a nice color contrast, but if not, the dish works equally well with all green beans. Look for young, tender beans that are bright green in color. Serve them hot, or at room temperature.

May they bring prosperity and blessings to all of us in the new year.

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces each green beans and wax beans, or 20 ounces green beans

• 3 tablespoons fruity olive oil

• 3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

• 1teaspoon whole cumin seeds

• 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds

• ⅓ cup capers, rinsed and patted dry

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced (both green and white parts)

• 1 cup mixed leafy herbs such as parsley, dill, tarragon, and chervil. The more variety the more flavors in the dish.

• grated zest of 1 lemon

• salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

• Bring a large pot of unsalted water to boil.

• Add in the beans and cook them, uncovered, for 3—4 minutes. They should be bright green and tender without being mushy. Then drain them in a colander and rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer the beans to a bowl.

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet and fry the garlic until tender. Then add the capers, the coriander, and the cumin and fry for about 20 seconds more, until the garlic slices are turning golden.

• Immediately, pour the oil with the spices over the beans and toss to combine. The hot oil will warm the beans.

• Add the herbs, the scallions, the salt and pepper, and the lemon zest.

• You can serve immediately while hot, let it rest for a bit and serve it at room temperature, or refrigerate it for later, being sure to allow the dish to come back to room temperature before serving.

• If you’d like to make this in advance and serve it hot, leave off the herbs, scallions and lemon zest and add them after you re-heat the beans, just before serving.