Slow-cooking in a rich tomato sauce produces uniquely supple green beans infused with big flavor. Could we keep the ultra-tender texture but shortcut the process? In order to quickly create braised green beans that are ultra-tender but not mushy or blown out, we first cook them in baking soda and water, to partially dissolve the pectin in their cell walls and let water enter to soften their fibrous skins. We then add tomatoes to neutralize the soda and let them simmer gently in a low oven.