Fasoulia bi zeit, green beans in olive oil

Green beans go into the pot with onion, garlic, tomato and a generous amount of olive oil, and cook until the liquid has gone. There is no meat in it. It is not served hot: the pot is left to stand and the dish is eaten at room temperature, as one item on a mezze table.

Why it is eaten cold

Hot olive oil weighs the plate down; once the dish cools to room temperature the beans and tomato come forward instead. Home kitchens know this and cook the pot the night before, for the next meal. Standing does the dish no harm — it settles it.

The bi zeit family

On the Syrian table bi zeit, meaning in olive oil, is a family name. Stuffed vine leaves, okra bi zeit and makdous sit on the same table on the same logic: a vegetable, olive oil, served cold, no meat. Green beans are the most everyday member of that family, and the easiest to find.

Two states of one name

Here is the distinction not to confuse. The bi zeit version is meatless, cold and a mezze; the version cooked with white beans and lamb is called fasoulia bi lahme, and that one is eaten hot with rice. When ordering, say which you want, or the meat pot is what arrives.

The season chooses

In summer the dish is made with fresh green beans. In winter, when there are none, the kitchen turns to the dried beans in the store cupboard and the dish becomes heavier, more of a stew. So the season decides not only the price but which version is on the stove.