Fresh Green Beans

[mazajo]

I was given a TON of fresh green beans. I love them steamed, but the rest of my family doesn't so much. I'd love some recipes using lots of them, either as a main dish or side. DH says he would like them cooked in lard with ham like his mom used to make, but I have hopes for healthier uses. TIA!

[Shirada]

We love them with onions, (slowly cooked in olive oil till soft and sweet), garlic and sometimes I add slivered almonds towards the end of cooking them.

[SparklingGemini]

Saute in a pan with a bit of oil and garlic and then right before they are done, add a bit of Hoisin sauce.

Mmmmmmmmmm.

[rhiOrion]

My favorite green bean recipe isn't the healthiest, but it doesn't involve lard! It does involve Ritz crackers, but I'm sure you could sub in whatever crackers you prefer. I also think you could sub the cream with lighter milk.

2 lbs greenbeans
1/2 cup butter
4 Tbs flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup light cream
grated nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup almonds (blanched)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Ritz crackers

Bring the butter to a simmer then add the flour. Pour in the broth and cream
and simmer til they thicken. Crush the crackers in and add almonds and
cheese. Then stir in the greenbeans.


I've also made this green bean and cherry tomato salad

And this pesto potato salad with green beans.

[lil_earthmomma]

I love smittenkitchen's recipes!

As for your mil's recipe, I cook them in a bit of bacon grease. I chop the bacon up really fine, cook it, then add the green beans, a squeeze of lemon, some garlic and serve. Sometimes I toss in artichoke hearts and mushrooms as well.

[Princess ConsuelaB]

I like German-style Green Beans:

Steam or otherwise cook a lb. of green beans until crisp tender and set aside. In a frying pan cook 2 or 3 slices of bacon until crisp, set bacon aside to drain on paper towels. Slice up a small onion and saute in a little bit of the bacon drippings until tender.
In a bowl mix together 2 tsp. cornstarch, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. ground mustard(or use a squirt of whatever prepared mustard you have) and a 1/2 cup water until smooth. Stir this mixture into the onions and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes until it thickens, then stir in 1 Tablespoon brown sugar and 1 TB cider vinegar. Add the beans, heat through and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

We like this for dinner in the summer alongside a potato dish of some sort. I often make it with turkey bacon instead of regular, in which case I add a little olive oil to the bacon pan for cooking the onions since turkey bacon doesn't produce grease.

I also have a recipe for a green bean pie I've been wanting try, but I haven't yet. It's basically green beans(it calls for 6 cups! cut in 1 inch pieces), mushrooms and onions sauteed until tender, then seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs. Cut up a package of cream cheese and stir into the mix until melted, thin with a little milk if needed. Then put into a pie crust and bake. in the cook book it shows it made with a lattice top and it's so pretty!

[Thalia the Muse]

Marcella Hazan has a wonderful braised green bean recipe. You saute some cubed mortadella in a little butter, then add garlic and julienned carrots. Cook a few minutes, then add the green beans and cook slowly, I think covered, until the beans are tender and the carrots are caramelized and soft.

[tinybutterfly]

I like them best with bacon, onions, salt and pepper.

A close second is boiled with peeled and quarted potatoes ( Yukon Gold are good!) butter, salt and pepper.

We usually just cook them plain, alone, until they are softish, add a bit of butter, salt and pepper.

My husband does not like bacon or bacon grease in anything. Ds#2 does not like them with potatoes.

[mazajo]

Thanks for all the recipes! I sauteed some tonight in olive oil with garlic and onions, and the flavor was great but I guess I didn't cook them long enough because they weren't very tender. I'm going to have DH look at these recipes with me later on and pick out a couple.

[texaspeach]

Southern style green beans involve a long cook time and either bacon or a hamhock in the water, along with some onion, garlic and red BP if you want. If you want to avoid the pork products, you can use smoked turkey wings instead.

:

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by mazajo

DH says he would like them cooked in lard with ham like his mom used to make, but I have hopes for healthier uses. TIA!

Lard is primarily a monounsaturated fat. When it comes from pastured animals it is also a good source of Vitamin D. It has less polyunsaturated fat in it than olive oil which means it's less prone to rancidity and oxidization which is important when it comes to any oil you want to heat.

Source is key since most lard in the grocery store is hydrogenated and/or treated with BHT, but if you can find a good source (even local) I don't see why it would be considered "unhealthy" - it's not like ham is all that high in fat either (if fat is your concern).

[staceychev]

Cut onions and fennel into slices. Toss with beans and olive oil, salt, and pepper before laying out on a cookie sheet. Cook at about 375 and keep an eye on them (I'm thinking 20 minutes, but I could be wrong).

Also, lightly blanched and cooled, so they're still crunchy, mixed with heirloom tomatoes, salt, pepper, EVOO, and balsamic vinegar. Made this last week and was smitten.

[Alyantavid]

The way we like best is baked with lots of bacon pieces, onions, and bacon fat.

[dogmom327]

Originally Posted by pampered_mom

Lard is primarily a monounsaturated fat. When it comes from pastured animals it is also a good source of Vitamin D. It has less polyunsaturated fat in it than olive oil which means it's less prone to rancidity and oxidization which is important when it comes to any oil you want to heat.

Source is key since most lard in the grocery store is hydrogenated and/or treated with BHT, but if you can find a good source (even local) I don't see why it would be considered "unhealthy" - it's not like ham is all that high in fat either (if fat is your concern).

ITA! If you can find a quality (pastured) source for lard...cook away!

Bacon Green Beans: Cook up some bacon, remove from the pan. Add some white wine vinegar to deglaze the pan and cook some shallots and garlic in the vinegar. Add steamed green beans and toss in the crumpled bacon. Crazy delicious!

Fermented Green Beans (pickled): Dissolve 1/4 cup salt into 3 qt. water. Let it cool. Place 1/2 lb. green beans in a 2 qt. jar. Add some chopped garlic, a few red pepper flakes, freshly ground black pepper and a generous amount of dill. Then add another 1/2 lb. green beans and the same spices on top. Pour the salt water solution over the whole thing and weight down the veggies (a plastic bag filled with liquid works) or use an airlock system to keep air out. Let it ferment for 2 weeks and then place in the fridge.

[Sol_y_Paz]

Sounds delicious! Share what your family likes. I would put them in a veggie pot pie or steam plain. My husband would put butter on the steamed beans.

[mazajo]

Interesting about the lard, for some reason I always thought it was all super unhealthy. Thanks for the info!

Tonight I boiled green beans in water with some onions, potatoes, and already cooked ham. I accidentally overcooked it a bit, but aside from that, it was delicious!

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by mazajo

Interesting about the lard, for some reason I always thought it was all super unhealthy. Thanks for the info!

Somewhere along the line all animal fat was painted evil...you're not the first person to think it!