With lemon and feta, these are not your regular green beans

The char, which gives these beans a lovely smoky flavour.

This is an edited extract from Lugma by Noor Murad (Quadrille, $55). Pictures by Matt Russell

Vegetables cooked al dente are not really a thing in the Middle East; it’s either raw or very cooked, and green beans are no exception. In fact, the first time I had to cook an al dente bean was while working in London and I was a little thrown: ‘What do they mean by blanch for 90 seconds?’ I grudgingly grew accustomed to them until I discovered grilled beans and, to my delight, found a halfway point between not overly soft and not overly crunchy either. That and the char, which gives these beans a lovely smoky flavour.

Try too my Middle Eastern bolognese recipe.

A very different way with beans, from the Middle East.

Lugma by Noor Murad (Quadrille, $55). Pictures by Matt Russell

Grilled beans with lemon and feta

Ingredients

• 450g green beans, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus an extra 1 tablespoon to serve
• 75g feta, crumbled
• Sea salt and black pepper

For the lemon dressing

• 1½ unwaxed lemons
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 5g oregano leaves, roughly chopped
• 5g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

Method

1. Place a grill pan or a large cast-iron pan over a medium-high heat. In a large bowl, toss the beans with the tablespoon of oil, ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Once the pan is hot, add a third of the beans to the pan, spreading in a single layer, and cook for 5 minutes without turning. Carefully turn them over and cook for 3–4 minutes more or until charred and softened. Transfer to a tray to cool, then continue in this way with the remaining beans. Keep the pan on the heat.
2. For the dressing, first cut the lemon half into five 0.5cm rounds, discarding any pips. Grill for about a minute on each side, until browned but not overly charred. Transfer to a cutting board and finely chop them, skins and all.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to a medium frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion, turn down the heat to medium and cook until softened and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool, then stir in the chopped grilled lemon, garlic, herbs, maple syrup, remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Juice the remaining lemon to get 1½ tablespoons of juice and then stir this in too.
4. To serve, spread half the charred beans on a large platter, sprinkle with half the feta and spoon over half the dressing. Repeat with the remaining green beans, feta and dressing and drizzle with the extra tablespoon of oil.

Serves 4 as a side