Green beans with mustard sauce

Name: Green beans with mustard sauce
Cook time: 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ½ tsp yellow mustard seeds; ¼ tsp cumin seeds; pinch of rosemary; 1 tbsp honey; ¼ cup pine nuts, finely ground; 1 tsp white wine vinegar; ¼ tsp sea salt; ¼ cup vegetable stock

Tony Chiodo

October 19, 2011

Time:< 30 mins

While hunting for a new garb for my freshly picked green beans, I was thrilled to find some lively recipes from Apicius, considered history's first gourmet. His book on ancient Roman cookery has always fascinated me. In a refreshing approach, he bases sauces for beans on a tender balance of pounded fresh green herbs and ground spices. To this he combines the sweetness of honey and the sourness from drops of wine vinegar.

Ingredients

½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
¼ tsp cumin seeds
pinch of rosemary
1 tbsp honey
¼ cup pine nuts, finely ground
1 tsp white wine vinegar
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ cup vegetable stock

Method

In a mortar and pestle, grind together the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and rosemary.
Add to a saucepan with the honey, pine nuts, vinegar, salt and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour over the cooked beans and serve.
Note
If steaming beans, the steaming liquid could be used instead of vegetable stock in the sauces