Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Lemon garlic green beans

I am a firm believer in a standard dinner plate: A protein, a starch and a veggie (usually green).  This makes for pretty standard side dishes in our house, but one of our favorite veggies is garlic lemon green beans.  These beans are gently boiled, then sauteed off in garlic with lemon juice and zest, creating a zippy sauce while the beans maintain a slight crunch.  These beans are great to entertain with, and require very minimal effort.  
Green beans are so amazing here, and we can get them fresh year 'round.  Put them with an amazing roast beef, pan seared chickenbroiled blackened catfish, or smothered chicken and a nice slice of fresh bread, and you have a delicious meal!  We have these throughout the year, and my daughter loves to help me snap the beans, which gets her excited about being in the kitchen!
I love to have her help me in the kitchen; it is a fantastic bonding experience, not to mention how much she is learning by working with me in the kitchen!

So, without further ado, lets get started!
Here's your grocery list for these beans:
1-2 lbs fresh green beans
3 cloves of garlic (feel free to use less if you'd wish)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 TBS Olive oil
Kosher salt, for seasoning
To start with, snap the ends off of your beans, and snap them into the size that you'd like.  I like mine about 3 inches long, but go with whatever size you'd like.  I like to soak my beans to clean them, but you can easily just rinse them off.

When you're ready, fill a deep side skillet halfway with water, and bring it up to a simmer.  While you're waiting for your water to come up to a simmer, go ahead and mince up your garlic.  You can also zest and juice your lemon, if you like.  It is best to have all of your ingredients ready, because things move quickly once your beans are cooked.

Once your water is simmering, add your beans in, and let them cook for 5-7 minutes, then drain them off.  While your beans are in the strainer, add your olive oil into the same pan you just cooked your beans in.  Over medium heat, add in the garlic, lemon juice and zest.  Cook the garlic for 2-3 minutes; you don't want the garlic to get too much color, but you do want to cook off the raw garlic flavor.



Once your garlic is ready, add your beans back in, and toss them with the garlic/lemon/olive oil sauce.  Add in the Kosher salt to your taste, and serve!  How easy is that?  









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