Hi everybody. I guess I ask more questions than I answer, I do appreciate the help. So does anyone have a simple recipe for cooking green beans? Tenderette. I also heard they can be washed and ate raw is that good?
Cooking Green Beans
Cook them? I don't know about tenderette, but I graze tender baby green beans (kentucky wonder) straight off the plant while I'm puttering in the garden. I also throw raw ones into salads. Or chilled and dipped in ranch dressing or blue cheese... by the way, in case you can't tell, I don't cook :-) ... everything said can also be applied to sugar snap or snow peas. Haven't tried black eye peas that way, but I'm hoping to give it a go this year... raw and seconds from the plant is probably the healthiest way to eat them... combined with sun warmed cherry tomatoes.... mmmm, I'm drooling!
I love them raw right off the vines, but I cook them, too. I like to just rinse them and toss them into a stir fry. You can also steam them or boil them or toss them into stews and soupd.
Ok, now! Me, too - drooling on the keyboard!
If you want to cook them super simple, here's the way:
Boil some water in a pot
Throw in the beans and a dash of salt to return the water to the boil quickly
Boil for a couple of minutes with the lid OFF.
Drain, eat and enjoy.
The key is to get the water boiling rapidly again after adding the beans and to leave the lid off.
You can also drizzle them with a little olive oil and perhaps a bit of garlic and roast them in the oven... I've done this but didn't make notes, so I'm guessing I used pretty high heat (400 or 425' F) and didn't cook them too long... I'm a fan of "al dente" fresh veggies, although Julia Child used to refer (disparagingly) to such brief cooking as "hot raw."
We like to saute fresh green beans over high heat on the stovetop, tossing them around with a little garlic and fresh rosemary, half a cup or so of either white wine or beef boullion, and a little splash of olive oil... yum!
There's also a very easy soup that I make with fresh green beans that really lets their flavor shine, see http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/636697/
If you're boiling them, throw in a chunk of salt pork, it gives them a great flavor.
Red
Red,
My mama used to make the best fresh green beans, boiled with salt-pork, new potatoes, and an onion. Not crispy, but delicious in a southern-country way!
Oh, you got to cook southern for green beans to be tasty. I agree with BigRed, gotta have some good old salt pork, country ham pieces, bacon, or bacon grease. Don't ruin good green beans by just tossing them in salted water, I will eat them raw, but the best eating is cooked southern style.
Thank Goodness I am going to Mississippi in a week or so... miss them hush puppies and catfish and fried pickles... and collards, turnip greens and salt pork (sorry I kind of got off topic...) It's been 20 years since I lived in GA, but oooooh, I miss the food. CanNOT find bisuits and red eye gravy worth a darn out here in NV. (come to think of it, that might be a GOOD thing for my bathroom scale...)
Don't you just love the southern cooking and all the grease and cholesterol?
Love all that stuff. I can't drink Sweet Tea any more, though. Due to my lack of the Soft Southern Sound in my voice, I was always offered "unsweetened tea", but I used to drink the sweet stuff by the gallon like I was born to it. I always liked making it, too. I remember in chemistry we made "sweet tea" to demonstrate super saturated solutions - of course, in those days, before I moved East and South, I didn't know you could actually DRINK the stuff! ... pulled pork, back eye peas, creamed corn, corn bread and honey pecan butter... I swear heaven must be where you can "eat Southern" and not gain any weight or worry about your arteries!
Cooked them with bacon last night for my SO, but mine got sauteed in amish butter. Takes all kinds *G*.
We do the beans Italian style: boiled in salted water until tender (but not mushy), then tossed w/ olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper. Sometimes I finely chop garlic into the bowl, then dump the cooked beans in and add the oil, salt & pepper.
Hey, Zeppy, I might be able to handle that - I DO know how to boil water! And I LOVE olive oil. And this year I have my very own garden grown garlic!
Zeppy, try a little chopped mint and red wine vinegar along with the other ingredients. It's almost like a salad. :)
Our favorite this time of the year is green beans with new potatoes. I cook them southern style with bacon. The first batch of the year is best and that is on our dinner menu today. lol I've never tried it with onion in it. I have lots of new onions but mayhap I'd best forgo them today.
LOL! Must not break tradition on the first batch! I envy you your potatoes. I am growing them for the first time this year and am anxiously awaiting the first gorgeous bloom!
My peas are going hot and heavy, but the beans are just starting.
somebody was talking about pickled green beans, thought it was this thread and it's not, but I'll post this link anyway for the recipe I use!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/523149/
Our family has always fried them with onions until they turn black. My grandmother probably used Crisco (she loved that) but we use olive or canola oil (the latter is really better as the beans are crispier and blacken up better).
Oh...don't forget the salt. They need lots of salt.
Half-runners are my favorite -- and, of course, cooked southern style with ham or bacon!
I know Craig asked for simple recipes; but, since you keep talking about green beans and salt pork you have to try Paula Deen's: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_32615,00.html
I love eating beans, asparagus, corn and okra raw right off the plant.
Linda
Great recipe, Linda! Thanks for sharing.
OK, I steam mine for about 10 mins - just until they are slightly tender. Then pour olive oil over them, salt, pepper and a little garlic powder.
This thread is really making me hungry for fresh home-grown, home-cooked green beans -- and it's only 9 in the morning!!
I love all the southern style green bean recipes too but when it's this hot, we also like to make the occassional three-bean salad.