This dish is about texture as much as it is about flavor and color. So, using the right ingredients are essential. Let’s talk a bit about tomatoes, green beans and panko.
Does it have to be cherry tomatoes? You may use regular tomatoes in lieu of cherry tomatoes. Simply cut into wedges before throwing into the pan.
As for the green beans, prepping them may differ depending on what variety of green beans you’re using. Regular green beans need to be stringed while haricot vert does not require it. More in the linked article below.
Is haricot vert the same as green beans?
Haricot vert is French for green beans. So, to answer the question in the title, if we’re going to be literal about it, yes, haricot vert is the same as green beans. But…
To create the lovely crisp topping, there’s panko. You won’t get the same result if you use fine bread crumbs. It’s not difficult to source considering that groceries and supermarkets around the world often have aisles and aisles of Asian food products. Read more about panko below.
Panko (Japanese bread flakes)
Strictly speaking, panko isn’t even crumbs the way bread crumbs are understood by the English-speaking world. They are light and airy flakes.
Finally, there’s the cooking pan. This dish was initially cooked on the stovetop then moved to a preheated oven. We used an oven-safe pan which went directly from the stove to the oven.
If your frying pan is not over-safe and you need to transfer the vegetables into a baking pan, note that the baking time might be a little longer. It takes time for the baking pan to heat up whereas an oven-safe frying pan that had just come from the stovetop is already hot.
Baked green beans and cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon rosemary we used fresh, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 pinch cayenne powder
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 300 to 400 grams green beans rinsed, trimmed and cut into halves
- salt
- pepper
- 200 to 300 grams cherry tomatoes rinsed
- ⅓ cup panko
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- In a frying pan, heat half of the olive oil and saute the garlic and rosemary with the tomato paste and cayenne for about a minute.
- Add the green beans and cherry tomatoes, sprinkle in salt and pepper, and pour in half cup of water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for ten minutes.
- While the vegetables simmer, toss together the panko, Parmesan and parsley.
- Remove the cover of the frying pan and turn off the heat. Taste the vegetables and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- If your frying pan is NOT over-safe, scrape the vegetables and juices into a baking pan.
- Sprinkle the panko mixture over the vegetables.
- Drizzle the remaining olive oil evenly over the topping.
- Bake the beans and tomatoes, uncovered, at 400F for ten minutes or just until the pan juices bubble and the topping is lightly browned.
