I have something to share with you this week that I am so very excited about. It’s something I have been working on for a couple of weeks (after toying with the idea for longer than that). It’s something that I hope will maybe make your life easier at times, something that I hope will help me out in the future, too, and something that I just love doing because…well, we’ll get to that later.
But I realized that before I share that project with you, I need to tell you about these green beans (this will make more sense later). I’ve been making green beans like this practically all summer, and I have no good reason for why they haven’t shown up here. I’m sorry. If someone had taught me how to make green beans like this years ago, I would have been a fan much sooner.
Garlic Almond Green Beans
You can cook your beans however you like here, but I really prefer to have mine cooked through but still with a bite. If you’d like a more pronounced garlic flavor, I’m sure it would be wonderful to saute some minced garlic along with the green beans and almonds, but I just wanted a slight hint of garlic that comes from perfuming the oil with it. The almonds are hands down my favorite part. Also, confession, sometimes when I blanch my beans I skip the ice water part and just go straight to a towel and then into the skillet, and this still seems to work out perfectly fine.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
1/2 lb. green beans, washed, ends trimmed
Kosher salt
1 tablesooon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
Pepper
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the green beans and cook until just tender and bright green, about 2-3 minutes. While they are cooking, prepare a small bowl of salted ice water. Drain the beans and place them in the ice water. When the beans have cooled down, remove them from the ice water and pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels.
2. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and let the garlic cook until each side is slightly browned. Then remove the garlic (throw it away) and immediately add the green beans and almonds into the pan, seasoning them with a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Saute, stirring frequently, until the almonds are toasty brown and the green beans have some brown looking sides, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately (or serve them right out of the pan).