Sweet & sour green beans with smoked bacon

1. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over a medium heat, then cook the bacon until crisp and golden, for about 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Sauté the onion in the fat in the pan for 4-5 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the caraway seeds and the clove and cook for another 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the flour, then slowly add the chicken stock or water, stirring all the time so the sauce doesn’t go lumpy.

3. Put the bacon back into the pan, stir it round and add the vinegar and sugar. The mixture should be sour-sweet, but not too sweet. Taste for seasoning – the bacon means the sauce is quite salty – and sweet-sour balance. Take the pan off the heat.

4. Steam the green beans for 3-4 minutes – they should still be a little crisp – and add them to the pan. Cook them for another 1 minute or so – you want the beans to suck up the flavours but not to overcook. Check the seasoning again and serve.