“This is one of those perfectly simple family recipes that is so easy to make,
it never shows up in a cookbook. Yet it is so delicious that I strongly advise
you to hurry up and try it.”

Preparation: Top and tail 2 1/4 pounds (1 kg) of freshly picked firm and crisp green beans. String them if necessary, then wash and drain. Bring three quarts (3 liters) of water to a boil in a big pot. Add a handful of coarse salt and three or four large onions, skinned and diced – but not too finely. Boil the onions for at least 15 minutes before adding the beans. What makes this dish so delicious is the contrast between the nearly melted onion and the firm almost al dente green beans. Cook the beans for about 10 minutes, depending on their size. Taste them and if they are cooked but still firm, pour the contents of the pot into a colander. Leave to drain.
Arrange the onions and beans in a serving platter. Dot with fresh butter
or sprinkle with olive oil – both are delicious in their own way. Add the
juice of half a lemon and a good handful of freshly picked, finely-chopped flat-leafed parsley.
 

Parsley

“Parsley comes with flat or curly leaves. I shall only discuss the former, since it is infinitely tastier. For me, the latter is inseparably linked with the sinister and far-too-small pat of butter – wrapped in gold-colored paper and inflexible from having spent too much time in the refrigerator – surrounded by three black olives and used to ‘garnish’ a vast array of cold cuts, spread out on a stainless-steel Louis XV platter.
In the wild, flat-leafed parsley bears a dangerous resemblance to another umbelliferous plant – hemlock. However, it is widely cultivated and sold everywhere, so you need not take the risk of picking the wrong plant while out for a walk. Parsley is well-known for its tonic, blood-purifying properties, its ability to reduce fever and increase blood flow; it is less well-known as a remedy for wasp- and bee-stings. Just crush a leaf between your fingers and apply the juice to the sting.
Parsley is a remarkable condiment that is used almost everywhere in the world. My mother never served a dish of vegetables, such as green beans, or a tomato salad, without generously sprinkling it, just before serving, with lots of chopped, flat-leafed parsley. And it was always my job to chop the parsley into a little mustard glass, using large kitchen scissors that my tiny child’s hands had difficulty in manipulating.”