Fresh green beans are a wonderful thing. Cook them by briefly blanching them, then fry them in bacon fat. Mix with some bacon, black pepper and vinegar and serve as an accompaniment to roast chicken or steak.
There’s nothing better than garden-fresh green beans!
Even after my parents gave up their garden beds for ten years, they still had their green bean trellis every summer.
My dad is pretty picky about his green beans. They need to snap and snap as you bend them, not wiggle around like a rubber band. This is how you know they are fresh.
I have a few rows of green beans planted from seed this year right after I pulled out the broad beans and spring peas. (By the way, if you’re growing green beans from seed, soaking the beans in water overnight before planting them or sandwiching them between layers of wet paper towels for a few days helps to germinate first.)
They love warmth and come into their own at least in our latitudes in August and September. When I went on vacation the plants were only a foot tall, two weeks later they are climbing over the fence.
So far I’ve harvested a mighty green bean overall, but my parents started their bean teepee a few weeks before me, so their beans are ready to pick now.
The trick to cooking green beans
Zucchini can sometimes exhaust me when I have to eat them every day. singles. Day. But green beans? I can eat a pound by myself (as Hank can attest since I’ve eaten almost the entire batch of them) and never get tired of them.
Here’s the trick with green beans. We usually cook them, but if you cook them for more than 7 minutes, they will turn brownish-olive. It’s just a chemical reality. Hard old beans take longer than 7 minutes to soften, so no matter what you do, they will be discolored when you eat them.
But fresh, young beans? They should cook fast enough that they still have that bright green color after cooking. Look for beans that easily break in half when you bend them.
Bacon makes green beans even better
This recipe is a simple prep that involves first boiling the beans, then sautéing them very quickly in bacon fat, then tossing with chopped bacon and sprinkling with black pepper. Simple and totally delicious.
At the very end, drizzle some vinegar or lemon juice over it. Acid is another thing that turns green beans from green to brown, so add the vinegar just before serving.
What to serve with green beans
These green beans make an excellent side dish for just about anything – fried or grilled chicken, pork chops, fish, steak, you name it. As a starch, serve it alongside roasted new potatoes or mashed potatoes.
love green beans? Try these recipes
- Green bean salad with basil, balsamic and parmesan
- French green beans with butter and herbs
- Green beans with almonds and thyme
- Warm green bean and pancetta salad
- Green beans with tomatoes and bacon
Green beans with bacon
Not all green beans are created equal. The longer the bean was on the bush, the tougher it can become. Fresh, young beans should cook to perfection in less than 6 minutes. Tough old beans take much longer to cook to soften. Look for beans that easily break in half when you bend them.
ingredients
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1 lb fresh green beansEnds cut off and discarded, extra long beans, cut in half if you like
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Salt
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2-3 slices bacon
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Black pepper
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1 tablespoon lemon juiceapple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
method
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Cook Green Beans:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil (1 tablespoon of salt to 2 liters of water). Add the green beans and cook until just tender enough to eat, 4-5 minutes (you may need to cook longer depending on the green beans you have). Drain and set aside.
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Cook bacon:
While the water heats to cook the beans, slowly fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat until crispy.
Use a slotted spoon or fork to loosen the bacon from the pan. Place the bacon on paper towels to soak up the excess fat.
There should be about a tablespoon of fat left in the pan. Pour fat beyond 1 tablespoon. (Don’t pour the fat down the drain or you’ll clog your drain.) If you have much less than a tablespoon of fat left in the pan, add a little olive oil or butter to the pan.
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Sauté green beans in bacon fat:
Once the green beans are just done, sauté them in the bacon fat over medium-high heat for another minute.
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Season with bacon:
Dice the bacon and add to the pan with the green beans. Fry for another minute.
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Finish and serve:
Place beans and bacon in a large serving bowl and sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper. Season with lemon juice or vinegar and serve immediately.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 82 | calories |
| 3g | Fat |
| 10g | carbohydrates |
| 5g | protein |
