Serves: 4
Ingredients:
500 g grean beans
4 cups water
4 tbs tomato paste
150 g minced meat
1 medium onion, finely diced
10 peppercorns
salt, pepper, baharat (preferably Syrian) – which I once called “mixed spice”
Method:
Wash the green beans and cut the ends off.
Next slice each bean into thirds/quarters. You don’t want the pieces to be too big or too small (about the length between two joints on your finger 
).
I remember my grandma telling me she never found this dish yummy unless she cut the beans at a 45 degree angle 
Add just over half the onion to a non-stick pot with a drizzle of oil.
Mix the onions until they soften (don’t brown them please!)
Look, they’re as soft and white as Snow White!
When soft, add the water.
…These look like a drowned Snow White…
Wait until you see bubbles form on the side.
This is when you add in the green beans. Note that green beans do float, but make sure they’re immersed well in the water. This is a soupy dish.
If you like a bit of soupy-ness, then add another cup of water. For each cup of water, you put 1 tablespoon of tomato paste.
Cover and leave on medium-high heat to cook for 15 minutes, stirring 2-3 times.
Meanwhile, add the salt, pepper and spices to the meat.
Mix in very well then add the rest of the onion.
Make into little meatballs and leave aside.
Ease: I had some cooked left overs that weren’t meatballs so I just used those to add into the broth. If you do this, you should add in more water because I felt that the broth thickened.
After the green beans have been cooking for 15 minutes, add the tomato paste.
Add a pinch of salt, pepper, spice, and the peppercorns.
V.I.Note: Be sure the salt content is decent, I can’t explain how horrid green beans taste without a taste-bud-balancing-amount-of-salt! >_<
Cover and cook for another 10 minutes (still on medium-high heat). If your meatballs are raw, drop them in at the 10 minute mark. Otherwise leave your cooked meat aside for later. Stir the pot’s contents 2-3 times throughout.
Cover and cook for at least 30 minutes before adding in the pre-cooked meat. Stir occasionally.
Leave on medium heat for another 10 minutes or until the green beans are cooked.
…cooked to perfection…
While the cooking process is underway, cook some rice as this dish really needs it
Please make r-i-c-e. Not a sloppy risotto-like texture.
Serve for lunch, supper, or dinner. But whatever you do…
Devour!
What a great meal!
Never tried this with minced meat…will have to do that soon
loved the pictures Fati..the angles are beautiful
Just another week and we´ll be picking our beans from the vegetable garden, so will keep this one “up my sleeve”. I love your recipes, so different (well, to me at least!).