Melt in the mouth tender beans cooked in a rich tomato sauce. This is a traditional dish in mediterranean countries, and Ottelenghi has a more complicated version but I believe when your food is this fresh, simple is best.

Slice a red onion and melt slowly in lots of olive oil with a couple of squashed garlic cloves. Prepare the beans by topping, tailing and snapping into thirds or halves. Cook in boiling, salted water until tender. When the onions are meltingly tender and the oil has absorbed their sweetness, add a large diced tomato for each handful of beans, or if it is still too early in the season for ripe tomatoes, use 3 tablespoons diced tomatoes out of a can for each handful of beans. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the tomatoes release their juice (if fresh) then add the drained beans and stew gently for another 30 minutes. Pile into a serving dish and allow to come to room temperature, add a few more glugs of olive oil and strew with fresh herbs before serving.