Green beans and stewed tomatoes sauteed with garlic and onion

One of my misconceptions prior to adopting a mostly vegetarian diet was that to make it palatable, one had to stock one's pantry full of exotic (and expensive) spices. After all, how is food going to have any flavor without meat? This simple, tasty recipe, for which I had all the ingredients right at home, put that notion to rest.

This gem is my take on a Filipino recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East vegetarian cookbook. Its simplicity belies its savory flavor.

I started by mincing three cloves of garlic and finely slicing a large onion (I sliced it in half, and then gradually "shaved" off the cut face so that I ended up with long, thin strips). Next, I took about a pound of Roma tomatoes (I think I used five), and lightly stewed them so that they peeled easily. I dropped them into boiling water for about fifteen seconds, fished them out with a slotted spoon, rinsed them with cold water and peeled them. Once I diced them into large (about half an inch) pieces, my prep work was done.

Next, I heated three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat (don't go too high, you don't want to burn the garlic), and when the oil was sufficiently hot, I sauteed the garlic for about 45 seconds. Then I added the onions, and sauteed them until they became translucent, but not until they browned - about four minutes. Then I added the tomatoes and beans, salt and peppered it to taste, and added a half a cup of water. Once it boiled, I turned down the heat, covered it, and let it simmer until most of the liquid had boiled off.

I served it with steamed white rice, for a low-everything (except flavor), yet satisfying and nutritious meal.