Sautéed Green Beans
In Recipes
Green beans are my favorite vegetable! Fresh green beans that is. I think canned green beans are the worst – even when they are our homegrown green beans that my Mom cans herself to preserve them for winter. THE WORST. No offense, Mom. If you’re looking to save some green beans for winter, I recommend freezing them rather than canning.
The reason I don’t like canned green beans is because they get too soft. I’m all about al dente vegetables. With this recipe you can go either way – soft or al dente.
The first of our homegrown green beans were picked this week. We plant green beans just about every two weeks from April-August for a total of 12-14 different plantings. Each field of beans is picked 2-3 times over the course of a week or so to complete the harvest.
If have ever grown beans you know it’s pretty cool to watch them develop. From a little purple/white blossom comes a TINY little bean! Can you see them in the picture above?
I pulled these off one plant so you can see the different stages of the beans. How cute are those baby beans? :)
So you have to put a little extra work in with fresh beans – snapping the stem off before cooking – but it’s worth it.
For al dente green beans I do a quick two minute blanch and immediately rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking. If you prefer your vegetables a bit more tender, leave the beans in the boiling water for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Add crushed red pepper flake for a little kick!
Voilà!
Sautéed Green Beans
- Serves 3-4
- Total Time 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ medium red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flake (optional)
1 pound fresh green beans, stems removed
Juice of ½ lemon
Directions
Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Add beans and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes for al dente. Cook for additional 3-5 minutes for more tender beans. Drain beans and immediately run under cold water to stop cooking.Over medium heat, warm butter and olive oil in large sauté pan. Add onion and cook until tender, 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper flake. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add green beans and lemon juice. Toss well and continue to cook until beans are warmed through, 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.
So cool to see those little beans!
Kool Beans!
Hi my wife and purchased several pounds of your flat Italian beans on July 24th for ourselves and several of our neighbors and friends.Everyone had a different recipe or cooking method,but they all raved about the flavor! The beans were very flavorful . We are hoping they will be available for a couple more weeks. We thoroughly enjoy shopping at your market with its friendly employees,pleasant atmosphere,quality produce, and the bakery. It all makes for a pleasant afternoon .Thank you all for your hard work.It is greatly appreciated. JOHN
Haven’t visited for awhile after seeing the web you will see me soon.