Bean Recipes
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About Beans
Fresh beans are one of summer’s staples. They will last about 1 week in a plastic bag in the fridge. Snap off the hats and tails and enjoy steamed, roasted, grilled or in soups. Fresh beans steamed until just tender with a little butter on them is hard to beat. There are many colors of fresh beans. Typically they are green but don’t be surprised by yellow, purple or the extremely beautiful ‘Dragon Tongue’ bean which is yellow with purple stripes. The purple and striped beans loose color when cooking but don't worry because beans are great to eat raw. Snacking on fresh green beans out in the field while picking is one of farming's greatest joys. You can also add them raw to potato salads, pasta salads or bean salads.
Mixed Roasted Veggies
Try roasting trimmed green beans, chopped new potatoes, and a chopped onion. Mix veggies with 1/4c olive oil and salt and pepper, put in a shallow casserole dish and bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes or so, stirring once.
Green Bean Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan in Lemon Dressing, from Farmer John's cookbook. Farmer John says with dish is "stunningly good," so there you go!
¼ cup chopped walnuts
1 pound green beans
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ cup thinly shaved Parmesan
Toast walnuts in a dry, heavy skillet until they start to brown in spots and become fragrant. Set aside to cool. Bring a pot of water to boil and add green beans and salt. Cook until tender but still firm, about 3-4 minutes. Drain a colander and run cold water over them to cool. Toss with walnuts in a large bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl, mix lemon juice and olive oil. Pour dressing over beans and toss until coated. Serve topped with parmesan.
Sauteed Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes (adapted from eastingwell.com)
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1/2 C water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pt halved cherry tomatoes
1 Tbs balsamic or rice wine vinegar
Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook, stirring often, until seared in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes for tender-crisp or 6 minutes for tender. Push the beans to the side; add the remaining 1 Tbs oil and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, stir everything together and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar, salt and pepper.
Fresh Green Beans, One Way (adapted from thepioneerwoman.com)
1 pound green beans, snapped
1 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs olive oil
1 C chicken broth, white wine or veggie stock
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Melt butter and oil over medium low heat. Add garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add green beans and cook for a minute until beans turn bright green. Add the broth, salt and black pepper. Turn heat to low and cover with a lid, leaving lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until liquid evaporates and beans are fairly soft, yet still a bit crisp. You can add more broth during the cooking process, but don’t be afraid to let it all cook away so the onions and peppers can caramelize.
Spicy Bean & Summer Squash Stir-Fry (modified from the China Moon Cookbook)
½ pound string beans, snapped
3-4 small summer squash or zucchini, sliced
1-2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs minced fresh ginger
2 scallions, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Sauce:
½ cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp hot pepper sauce
Combine sauce ingredients. Blanch string beans in boiling water until almost tender, 1-2 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Heat the olive oil and add garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir fry until aromatic, 20 – 30 seconds. Add onion and squash. Stir fry until squash is tender and onions are wilted, 5 – 10 minutes. Add the cilantro and stir. Add the beans to the pan and toss to heat through. Add the sauce, stir to coat vegetables, and fry a few minutes more until most of the liquid has evaporated. Serve hot.
Fermented Green Beans:
Dissolve 2-4 tablespoons of sea salt in 2 quarts of water (be sure not to use city water treated with chlorine). Trim the stems off the beans and place then upright in quart mason jars. Pour in the brine mixture to cover, and loosely screw on a lid. Now allow to ferment at room temperature for a week or so, trying them every few days until they have the right flavor and texture. They should still be fairly crisp and tangy, and a little salty. Once they are ready, move them to the fridge to enjoy for a couple of months. If too salty for you, soak in fresh water for a half hour before serving. Adding garlic, dill and peppercorns to the jars makes real fermented dilly beans.
Fresh beans are one of summer’s staples. They will last about 1 week in a plastic bag in the fridge. Snap off the hats and tails and enjoy steamed, roasted, grilled or in soups. Fresh beans steamed until just tender with a little butter on them is hard to beat. There are many colors of fresh beans. Typically they are green but don’t be surprised by yellow, purple or the extremely beautiful ‘Dragon Tongue’ bean which is yellow with purple stripes. The purple and striped beans loose color when cooking but don't worry because beans are great to eat raw. Snacking on fresh green beans out in the field while picking is one of farming's greatest joys. You can also add them raw to potato salads, pasta salads or bean salads.
Mixed Roasted Veggies
Try roasting trimmed green beans, chopped new potatoes, and a chopped onion. Mix veggies with 1/4c olive oil and salt and pepper, put in a shallow casserole dish and bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes or so, stirring once.
Green Bean Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan in Lemon Dressing, from Farmer John's cookbook. Farmer John says with dish is "stunningly good," so there you go!
¼ cup chopped walnuts
1 pound green beans
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ cup thinly shaved Parmesan
Toast walnuts in a dry, heavy skillet until they start to brown in spots and become fragrant. Set aside to cool. Bring a pot of water to boil and add green beans and salt. Cook until tender but still firm, about 3-4 minutes. Drain a colander and run cold water over them to cool. Toss with walnuts in a large bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl, mix lemon juice and olive oil. Pour dressing over beans and toss until coated. Serve topped with parmesan.
Sauteed Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes (adapted from eastingwell.com)
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1/2 C water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pt halved cherry tomatoes
1 Tbs balsamic or rice wine vinegar
Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook, stirring often, until seared in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes for tender-crisp or 6 minutes for tender. Push the beans to the side; add the remaining 1 Tbs oil and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, stir everything together and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar, salt and pepper.
Fresh Green Beans, One Way (adapted from thepioneerwoman.com)
1 pound green beans, snapped
1 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs olive oil
1 C chicken broth, white wine or veggie stock
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Melt butter and oil over medium low heat. Add garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add green beans and cook for a minute until beans turn bright green. Add the broth, salt and black pepper. Turn heat to low and cover with a lid, leaving lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until liquid evaporates and beans are fairly soft, yet still a bit crisp. You can add more broth during the cooking process, but don’t be afraid to let it all cook away so the onions and peppers can caramelize.
Spicy Bean & Summer Squash Stir-Fry (modified from the China Moon Cookbook)
½ pound string beans, snapped
3-4 small summer squash or zucchini, sliced
1-2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs minced fresh ginger
2 scallions, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Sauce:
½ cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp hot pepper sauce
Combine sauce ingredients. Blanch string beans in boiling water until almost tender, 1-2 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Heat the olive oil and add garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir fry until aromatic, 20 – 30 seconds. Add onion and squash. Stir fry until squash is tender and onions are wilted, 5 – 10 minutes. Add the cilantro and stir. Add the beans to the pan and toss to heat through. Add the sauce, stir to coat vegetables, and fry a few minutes more until most of the liquid has evaporated. Serve hot.
Fermented Green Beans:
Dissolve 2-4 tablespoons of sea salt in 2 quarts of water (be sure not to use city water treated with chlorine). Trim the stems off the beans and place then upright in quart mason jars. Pour in the brine mixture to cover, and loosely screw on a lid. Now allow to ferment at room temperature for a week or so, trying them every few days until they have the right flavor and texture. They should still be fairly crisp and tangy, and a little salty. Once they are ready, move them to the fridge to enjoy for a couple of months. If too salty for you, soak in fresh water for a half hour before serving. Adding garlic, dill and peppercorns to the jars makes real fermented dilly beans.