Recipe ideas for fresh seasonal green beans. Fresh quick and easy green beans!
market fresh green beans
Green beans 3 ways
Tis the season, and fresh green beans are here. Just picked still dirty from the farm beans are quintessentially summer and BBQ and just plain old good, and you should get your full of local seasonal beans now.
Here as follows are just a few ideas on how to enjoy your farmers market beans. Whatever you do, keep it simple and easy, and let the taste of perfect harvest fresh green beans shine through
I confess, I'm a bit of a green bean purist at heart, and time and again I'll come back to simply boiled green beans (4-5) minutes finished in a sauté pan with a generous spoonful of butter and salt.
Bacon and honey mustard green beans
Get a few rashers of a good thick smoky bacon, and fry until almost, but not quite crispy. Meanwhile, boil your beans in well salted water, until just done (beans need to be cooked, none of this al dente business with beans!). Take the bacon out of the pan, and cut or crumble, and use the bacon fat with about half as much red wine vinegar, a dash of honey and a tsp of Dijon, whisked together. Toss with the warm beans, and season with salt to taste. You could also add some new potatoes to make this a more substantial side.
Caramelized onion and parmesan beans
Fry a sliced onion very slowly in olive oil, until golden brown, and seriously reduced. This should take the better part of half an hour. You want the onion to start caramelizing, so watch it closely as it nears the end, as those onion sugars will tend to burn if left unattended.
Boil your beans in well salted water until cooked, about 5 minutes, and toss with the caramelized onions in olive oil. Add about ¼ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, and salt if needed.
Grilled beans
A twist on the usual grilled veg's. Coat your green beans in olive oil, salt and pepper, and grill over medium heat, until slightly charred and softened, about 15 minutes. These are great dressed with a little more olive oil and either a balsamic or red wine vinegar. Or use as part of a grilled vegetable salad.
Green bean casseroles, salad Nicoise, Indian spiced fried green beans…it's all so good. Eating locally and with the seasons is a pleasure, and be sure to take advantage of whatever is flooding your local farmers market right now.