Charred Green Beans With Cilantro Vinaigrette

Recipe & Pic from A Beautiful Plate

The smoky flavor of these beans combined with the zesty herbal dressing will make you feel like summer is here to stay! This dish would be great as a side at a BBQ or the beans could be tossed over your favorite cooked grain to make a full meal.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh lime juice

¼ cup packed cilantro leaves plus more for garnishing

1 small garlic clove finely grated with a microplane

¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Charred Green Beans:

1 lb (16 oz) fresh green beans trimmed

extra virgin olive oil

flaky salt such as Maldon, for finishing

Prepare Vinaigrette: Combine the extra olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, grated garlic, salt and pepper in small capacity food processor bowl. Puree or pulse the ingredients together until well emulsified and the cilantro is finely chopped throughout. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice as needed. Set aside while you prepare the green beans. Stir just before using.

Prepare the Green Beans: In a mixing bowl, toss the trimmed green beans lightly with olive oil, roughly 1 tablespoon or so, and season with salt. Preheat an outdoor grill to high heat. Important Note: If your grates are spaced apart by more than ½-inch, I recommend setting a metal rack – without a non-stick coating – over the grates to ensure the beans do not fall through during cooking. Alternatively, you can char the green beans in batches on a piping hot grill pan inside on your stovetop stovetop. If grilling inside, be sure to turn on your kitchen exhaust fan as it will get smoky.

Distribute the green beans over the hot grill, perpendicular to the grates or on top of the metal rack. Depending on the size of your grill, you may need to cook the beans in batches to avoid over-crowding. Cook the beans for roughly 3 to 4 minutes, tossing with tongs every few minutes, until evenly charred and beginning to soften. Transfer to a large platter.

Spoon the cilantro lime vinaigrette over the charred green beans, tossing lightly if desired. Before serving, sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold from the fridge.

Recipe: Som Tam Salad With Joi Choi

2021 Week 18 Newsletter

Recipe & Pic from Cheap & Cheerful Cooking

Som Tam Salad is traditionally made with Green Papaya but many other veggies can be subbed in with delicious results- the original riff on this recipe included Kohlrabi but here we suggest using the Joi Choi from your box! Consider throwing in some steamed broccoli as well, the dressing works well with just about anything.

~Rae

1 head Joi Choi

1 carrot

3 cloves garlic

1-2 bird's eye chillies (or sub jalepeno to taste!)

1 heaped tbsp peanuts, roasted

½ pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
String Beans (like the yellow beans in your box!)

Dressing (a staple in Alice's house)

3 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar

1 pinch salt

Blanch beans in boiling salted water for 2min, then chill and cut into pieces. Slice the carrot into thin strips and Joi Choi into crunch ½-1 inch strips, greens & stems. Place garlic, chilies, salt, and sugar in a mortar and crush finely. Add peanuts and crush roughly. Add lime juice, soy sauce, and tomatoes. Mix everything and squeeze tomatoes lightly. Add dressing and serve with sticky rice.

Recipe: Charred Green Beans With Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

2021 Week 15 Newsletter

Recipe & Pic from A Beautiful Plate

This recipe would make a zingy side dish but you could also transform it into a meal in itself by tossing the beans over long grain rice (and beans) and throwing a fried egg on top! 

2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh lime juice

¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves plus more for garnishing

¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Charred Green Beans:

1 lb (16 oz) fresh green beans trimmed

extra virgin olive oil

flaky salt such as Maldon

Prepare Vinaigrette: Combine the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper in small food processor bowl. Puree or pulse ingredients together, until mixture just begins to come together, and cilantro is still finely chopped. Set aside in a small container. Shake before using.

Prepare the Charred Green Beans: In a medium bowl, toss the trimmed green beans lightly with olive oil (roughly 1 tablespoon or so) and season lightly with salt. Heat a grill (use a grill pan if your grill slats are spaced apart) over medium-high heat or large grill pan over very high heat. The pan should be piping hot. If you are grilling inside, turn on your kitchen fan, as it will get smoky.

Add about a third of the green beans directly to the hot grill or grill pan, spreading them out evenly. Grill the greens beans for roughly 4 to 5 minutes, tossing them every few minutes, until they are evenly charred and beginning to soften slightly. Transfer the charred green beans to a serving platter or separate mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining green beans.

Allow the charred green beans to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then toss with the cilantro-lime vinaigrette. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves and finishing salt. The dish can be served hot, at room temperature, or cold straight from the fridge.

Recipe: Blistered Green Beans & Tomatoes

From 2021 Week 11 Newsletter

Recipe & Pic From Dishing Up The Dirt

When most of us were growing up, charred bits on your food meant you had overcooked things and dinner was ruined, but we have since learned to love the slightly bitter, slightly smoky flavor of blistered veggies. This is a great way to use your crisp beans, succulent tomatoes, and pungent garlic all in one dish- it's the epitome of summer abundance! 

1/4 cup butter or cooking fat of choice

1 lb green beans, trimmed

fat pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes

4 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup thinly sliced basil (optional)

Heat 2 Tablespoons of the butter in a large cast iron pan over medium-high until melted. Add the green beans (you may need to do this in batches) and cook, covering the pan as needed if the butter is spattering until browned underneath. About 3 minutes. Using tongs flip the beans and brown on the other side for a few more minutes. Continue to cook and turn beans until they are lightly blistered on all sides. Remove the beans to a plate and set aside. Add the remaining butter to the pan and toss in the tomatoes. Cook, undisturbed for about 2 minutes or until they blister up a bit on the bottom. Toss the tomatoes and cook for one more minute. Add the garlic and jalapeño and continue to cook, tossing every so often until the garlic is browned, the pepper is softened and the tomatoes are blistered. Add the green beans back to the pan and drizzle in the soy sauce. Toss everything together and throw in the basil. Taste for seasonings and adjust if needed.

Recipe: Roasted Beans With Israeli Couscous and Tahini Cream

One of Rae's Favorites!

½ pound green or yellow beans trimmed and cut

1 cup uncooked Israeli Couscous

½ tsp Za'atar Spice Mix (or just a mix of cumin and coriander if that is all you have) 

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (tiny tiny pinch here)

1/4 cup tahini

3-4 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons water + additional to thin as needed

2 tbs cilantro, chopped 

Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 400. Toss beans with a glug of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and the Za'atar. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 10-15min. Meanwhile cook Israeli Couscous per package instructions and set aside. For the tahini sauce- combine all the ingredients for the sauce and whisk until completely smooth and creamy. If the sauce is too thick add a touch more water. When the beans are cooked pile them on top of the couscous on each plate and drizzle with tahini sauce, cilantro, and a dollop of Greek yogurt. 

A note from Rae: I've made this with roasted fennel with a fennel frond garnish in the past (hence the fennel in the pic) but it is a super flexible recipe that can be combined with other veggies that you may have on hand so be creative! 

Recipe: Green Beans With Tomatoes & Caramelized Onions

from An Oregon Cottage

1 pound green beans trimmed and cut

2 tablespoons butter divided**

1 onion chopped

1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

½ cup of more chopped fresh tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon dried red chili peppers or to taste

Steam green beans in a large pot lined with a steamer basket and filled with water to the bottom of the basket, cook just until crisp-tender, about 5min.

Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add chopped onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 5-8 minutes. Add garlic variation here if using.

Add balsamic vinegar and cook a minute before adding the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and dried chili peppers and any optional herbs. Cook another 1-3 minutes, and then remove from heat.

Drain the beans when they are done and toss with the remaining butter and more salt and pepper as you'd like.

Recipe: Roasted Fennel & Beans With Orange & Almonds

adapted from Martha Stewart

1 pound green beans, trimmed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch wedges, 1/4 cup fronds reserved

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Zest of 1/2 orange, thinly sliced, plus 3 tablespoons orange juice

1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in lower third. In a medium bowl, toss green beans with 1 tablespoon oil. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss fennel wedges with remaining tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper; arrange in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes, then flip fennel and add green beans to sheet. Roast until beans are crisp-tender, 12 to 15 minutes. To serve, transfer to a serving platter, drizzle with orange juice, and top with almonds, orange zest, and fennel fronds.

Recipe: Spicy Beans With Pork

from Wives With Knives

½ lb. ground pork

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice wine

¼ teaspoon peppercorns (szechuan if you have them) freshly ground

¼ cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon spicy garlic black bean sauce

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1-1/2 tablespoons garlic chili sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in half if desired

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

4 green onions, sliced

¼ cup white sesame seeds, lightly toasted

In a small bowl toss the pork with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of rice wine and the ground pepper. Marinate at room temperature while assembling the rest of the ingredients.

In a separate bowl combine the remaining tablespoon of soy sauce, the remaining teaspoon of rice wine, the chicken stock, spicy bean sauce, hoisin, chili garlic sauce, sugar, sesame oil and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.

When the oil is hot add the beans and stir fry them for 10 minutes, or until they begin to brown and blister. Remove the beans from the pan using a slotted spoon and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil. Return the pan to the heat and add the pork, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for about 3 minutes, or until there is no longer any pink color to the pork. Add the green onions and cook 1 minute. Add the reserved sauce and green beans and mix well. The sauce will begin to thicken and glaze the pork and beans.

To serve, garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with steamed rice or pan fried noodles.

Recipe: Green Beans & Cucumbers With Miso Dressing

from Bon Appetite

1 large cucumber

Kosher salt

1 pound green beans, trimmed (use your haricots verts!)

1 1½-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated

1 serrano or Fresno chile, finely grated

1 garlic clove, finely grated

⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar

¼ cup white miso

¼ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions (for serving) - use your tropea onions!

Lightly smash cucumber with a rolling pin, then tear into bite-size pieces. Toss with a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Let sit to allow salt to penetrate.

Meanwhile, place green beans in a large resealable plastic bag, seal, and smash with rolling pin until most of the beans are split open and bruised. Whisk ginger, chile, garlic, vinegar, miso, olive oil, and sesame oil in a medium bowl until smooth. Add dressing to beans and toss around in bag to coat; season with salt.

Drain cucumbers and add to bag with beans. Shake gently to combine. Transfer salad to a platter and top with sesame seeds and scallions.

Recipe: Spaghetti With No-Cook Sauce

adapted from  101 Cookbooks

This recipe calls for creating a quick sauce with larger tomatoes, but if you have cherry tomatoes we suggest skipping the sauce, roasting your cherries in olive oil and garlic until they burst, and then tossing those into your pasta.

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

scant teaspoon fine grain sea salt

2 lemons

1 pound whole grain spaghetti

1 pound green beans

2/3 cup torn Kalamata olives

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup torn mozzarella

Slivered fresh basil to serve

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

In the meantime, slice the tomatoes  into bite-sized chunks and place in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the garlic, salt, and zest of one of the lemons. Squeeze a tablespoon of lemon juice into the mixture, and use a hand blender to pulse a few times, into a chunky sauce.

Salt the pasta water well, and cook the pasta per package instructions. Add the green beans  to the pasta water in the last minute of cooking. Drain the pasta and vegetables and transfer to the bowl with the tomato sauce. Toss well. Add half the olives and half the pine nuts. Add all of the mozzarella. Toss well, and top with the zest of the second lemon, and the remaining olives and pine nuts.

Top with basil, serve immediately.

Recipe: Green Beans With Almond Pesto

From Smitten Kitchen

2 pounds green (or purple and yellow!) beans
1 cup (5 ounces or 140 grams) almonds, toasted and cooled
1 1/4 ounces (about 1/3 cup grated) parmesan or aged pecorino cheese, but no need to grate if using a food processor
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Leaves from a sprig or two of thyme
Pinches of red pepper flakes, to taste
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt
2 to 3 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Trim green beans — I find using kitchen shears the quickest way — and cook beans in boiling water until crisp tender, about 3 to 4 minutes for regular green beans or 2 to 3 minutes for the skinnier “haricot vert” variety. Plunge in an ice water bath to fully cool. Drain and pat dry. (If you have no patience for the precision of ice water baths, take the green beans out a full minute early as they will continue cooking as they cool.)

In food processor, grind almonds, cheese, garlic, thyme, pepper and salt to a coarse paste. Add vinegar, and pulse again. Stir in oil and adjust seasonings to taste.

Toss cooled green beans with almond pesto. Drizzling with extra olive oil for a fresh glisten. Dig in.

Serving suggestions: a mix of cherry tomatoes, grilled bread drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with a halved garlic clove or even grilled sausages.

Recipe: Green Beans With Pesto

From Garlic & Zest

1 pound green beanstrimmed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons Basil pesto sauce
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
sprinkle shaved Parmesan

Toast The Almonds: Preheat the oven to 400°. Lay the almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 5-7 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. (I start watching the almonds at the 5 minute point to make sure they don't burn).

For Warm Beans: Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the kosher salt and green beans. Cook the beans until they are crisp tender, about 3-5 minutes. Drain the beans well and add the pesto. Use tongs to toss the beans in the pesto until well coated. Transfer the beans to a serving bowl and sprinkle with toasted almonds and shaved parmesan.

For Chilled/Room Temperature Beans: Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the kosher salt and green beans. Cook the beans until they are crisp tender, about 3-5 minutes. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the beans to the ice water to shock them and stop the cooking. When the beans are cold, drain the water and pat them dry with paper towels.

Add the pesto to the beans. Use tongs to toss the beans in the pesto until well coated. Transfer the beans to a serving bowl and sprinkle with toasted almonds and shaved parmesan. Can be covered and kept refrigerated for a few hours until ready to serve.

Recipe: Spicy Green Beans

From Leanne Brown's Good & Cheap
Throw a fried egg on top, serve with rice, and you have a delicious meal. You can substitute the soy sauce and sambal oelek for a big tablespoon of Harissa if you prefer that flavor. Prepare as directed, just substituting sauces.

1 tsp vegetable oil

½ lb green beans, ends trimmed, chopped into bite-size pieces

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sambal oelek or harissa (or 2 tsp chili flakes)

1 tsp ginger, grated (optional)

1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
 

Add the vegetable oil to a frying pan on medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the green beans. Let them cook undisturbed for about 1 minute. Mix the garlic, soy sauce, and sambal oelek in a bowl (and the ginger and lemon juice, if using). The beans should have turned bright green.

Add about ¼ cup of water to the pan. Cook another 2 minutes, until the water is mostly gone. Pour the sauce into the pan and toss gently to coat. Cook another 2 minutes, until everything is fragrant and most of the liquid is gone. Poke the beans with a fork: if it goes through easily, they’re done. They should take about 5 minutes. Taste and add more chili sauce or soy sauce if you want the beans hotter or saltier.