Summertime Green Beans

prep time:: 15 min .
total time:: 25 min .

Makes 4 - 6 servings

Linda Williams

This is a great bring along recipe, very bright flavor, goes with lots of summer dishes, best if made ahead.

ingredients

The best,thinnest, freshest filets of green beans. What ever amount you want, although I can usually find about 3 cups or so.
Zest from one lemon. Use the kind of zester that makes long strips. You need about 10 strips for a small amount of beans or 20 for a lg. recipe
1 clove of organic garlic or 2-3 of reg. garlic
very goood olive oil
salt and pepper
option ingred: a dash of chili flakes
1 or 2 (depending on your recipe size, I use 1 for about 3 cups of beans) lg. size freezer bags with good closures.

directions

1
Steam the green beans, watching carefully as they should just be tender to bite but not overdone.
2
Immerse in ice water to set the color and let them cool completely.
3
Take them out of ice water. Put in colander and shake as much water off as you can,so they can continue to drain.
4
When completely drained, lay a couple layers of tea towels on the counter and spread the green beans as best as you can in a single layer. Put more cloths on top and, rubbing gently, try to get them as dry as possible. If you do this enough ahead of time, you could also let the open window help with the drying.
5
As the beans are drying, take your freezer bag and turn back the top to keep it clean and open.
6
Then, for 3 cups of beans, add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of olive oil, the lemon zest strips, about 1 tsp. of good coarse salt, the same amount of fresh pepper and the garlic, finely minced. If you are using the chili flakes, add them now.
7
Squish the bottom of the bag all over to get things mixed together, then add the dried, steamed beans and gently massage it all together. Seal the bag securely and massage it all into a flatness that has everything coating everything.
8
If these are to be used the same day, don’t bother chilling in the fridge. But if they are for tomorrow or the following day, then they should go in the fridge. They never last longer than 3 days in our house!
9
Enjoy!!

notes

I guess the critical thing with this recipe is getting the beans steamed to just the right doneness and adding the right amt. of salt. Too little is just a disaster, so do some tasting to be sure.

Source: Kim Alexander