Wednesday, August 31, 2011

GREEN BEANS and HERICOTS VERTS.

Green beans are now readily available at farmers' markets and they are such a treat!  I think everyone likes green beans! 

Here are a few ideas for dressing up green beans for everyday, and for company.

*  Saute garlic in olive oil and/or butter; add lemon juice, lemon zest and steamed green beans.
*  Toss steamed green beans with chopped, roasted red peppers.
*  Toss steamed green beans with sesame oil, fresh grated ginger and toasted sesame seeds.
*  Saute slivered almonds in butter until toasted, add steamed green beans and heat through.
*  Fry cut pieces of bacon or prosciutto, pour out the grease, add steamed green beans and heat through.
*  Toss steamed green beans with peanut oil, red chillies, minced garlic and oyster sauce.
*  Toss warm, steamed green beans with butter and fresh chopped tarragon/chive/basil/thyme.

Always prepare a much larger batch than you intend to use that day.  Adding these green beans to a salad is a delicious way to eat the left-overs.

Do you know what "haricots verts" are?  If you've taken any French classes this is easy for you.  Translated exactly to English they are beans green.  More specifically, they are a slender variety of a snap bean developed originally in France.  I've never been able to taste any difference between the green beans we typically see in stores and haricots verts; so I use them interchangeably.  FYI, here is the correct pronunciation of haricots verts:  är-ē-kō-ˈver

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