The Best Way to Cook Green Beans: No Blanching Needed
Green beans cooked in one frying pan with butter, shallot and a splash of water under a lid, so they steam until tender but still crisp. Finished with garlic, lemon zest and black pepper in about 6 minutes, with no blanching or ice bath.
Ingredients
- 200 g green beans trimmed and washed
- 10 g butter or 10 ml olive oil
- 1 shallot finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic finely diced
- 50 ml water plus a dash more if needed
- 1/2 lemon zest only
- 0.25 g salt
- 0.25 g black pepper freshly cracked
Instructions
- Trim the beans: line up the tops with your hand or a knife, cut off just the tops and pick out any that don't look great. Wash the beans.
- Put a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the butter (or olive oil).
- Add the shallot and cook for about 1 minute to start softening it, without letting it colour.
- Add the beans and the 50 ml of water, then cover straight away with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for about 3 minutes, giving the pan a gentle shake now and then.
- Take the lid off, turn the heat down to medium-low and stir in the garlic. If the pan looks dry and the shallots start to catch on the base, add a dash of water.
- Keep cooking until the beans are tender but still crisp. Taste one: if it still squeaks on your teeth, give them another minute.
- Turn the heat off, zest in the lemon, season with the salt and black pepper and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1portionCalories: 40.6kcalCarbohydrates: 4.7gProtein: 1.4gFat: 2.3gSaturated Fat: 1.3gCholesterol: 5.4mgSodium: 42.8mgPotassium: 188mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2.1g
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