Haricots Verts A La Provencale

In anticipation of Julia Child's birthday next month-she would be 97 on August15-I got out my copy of Mastering the Art. An early morning trip to a farm stand yeilded some tomatoes and green beans, so this recipe on page 447 sort of seemed a natural, although I used the fat American green beans, Julia probably would have used the skinny French ones. Although the French beans are sort of stylish, these plump Mid-Western beauties were tender, juicy and just delicious.

Julia's recipes are meticulously written. I am more impatient, so I will summarize how I made this dish, also I needed a smaller amount than the original recipe. But by all means dig out your own copy of Mastering the Art if you have one.

1 cup sliced onions

1/4 cup olive oil

Slowly stew the onions in the oil until they are tender, about 10 minutes-do not brown.

2 to 3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced-reserve the juice

1 bouquet garnie in cheesecloth-garlic, cloves, bay, parsley, and thyme

salt and pepper

Add the bouquet garnie and tomatoes to the onions and simmer gently, add some reserved juice if the tomatoes get too dry.

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and blanched

After the tomatoes haver simmered for 30 minutes, add the green beans and cook until tender, adding more juice as needed or water.

Remove bouquet garnie and top with fresh herbs before serving. I used fresh basil, but Julia also recommends savory, parsley, or tarragon.