Some vegetables are best served simply, like green ( French ) beans done in plenty of garlic and just a little lemon juice. In my family ( my mum’s side anyhow) we’ve always cooked our vegetables at a minimum – so it wasn’t until I learnt through my Italian hero ( now sadly passed away) Antonio Carluccio that a good green bean should be cooked for a whole 15 minutes! Once I started doing that, I must say my bean dishes greatly improved. However, this is only the case with shop-bought beans I find, for beans picked fresh in the garden, like the ones above they just need about 7 minutes to become tender but still keep a little “bite”.

The variety, should you be interested in knowing, is called “Speedy Bean” and I’m growing them on the recommendation of my utterly talented gardening cousin and her gifted Master Gardener boyfriend, who reckoned they would be a suitable bean for the challenging Scottish climate. And they are right!

You can get speedy beans here at Seedaholic .

So, to the recipe! It’s simple, it’s delicious and it good on its own for lunch, or as a side for dinner.

Green ( French) Beans with Garlic and Red Onions

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

450g/1 lb freshly picked french beans, washed

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small red onion, finely cut into rings

3 gloves garlic. minced 

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add the beans and cover the pot. Cook the beans, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain and rinse under cold water.

2 When you are ready to serve, heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the red onion and garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, until the red onion goes glossy.

3 Add the beans, salt and pepper, and sauté briefly. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve.