blistered beans on a blustery day

February 3, 2014 • Nancy Wolfson-Moche

Blistered beans on a blustery day. Repeat five times. Fast. This bitter cold, snowy morning called for a highly charged ,sizzling hot vegetable dish. Quite sure that my family would be trudging home in some serious snow later today, I wanted to give them a strengthening dish for breakfast. I chose green beans, high in protein, cooked in extra virgin olive oil, a good-cholesterol, strengthening fat. They ate it up.

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serves 4

INgredients

6 ounces green beans

1 clove garlic

1 Tablespoon EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1 teaspoon + a pinch sea salt

2 mandarinquats (hybrid of a mandarin orange and a kumquat)

Process  Peel the garlic and slice it into thin rounds.

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Set aside. Trim the tough brown ends of the string beans.

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Wash the beans well. Fill a medium to large pot with water and a teaspoon of sea salt, cover and bring to a boil. When water is rapidly boiling, drop in the string beans to blanch them. As soon as they rise to the top, remove them with a wire mesh skimmer. Set them aside. Heat a cast iron or stainless steel skillet for about 45 seconds. Pour in the olive oil and let it heat in the pan for 10-20 seconds. Add the garlic to the pan to flavor the oil.

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When the garlic is brown, remove it from the pan and add the green beans. They will sizzle and blister on contact with the hot oil; use cooking chopsticks to turn them to blister them on all sides.

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When their skin begins to shrivel and they are a golden brown, remove them from the pan and arrange on individual plates.

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Quarter the mandarinquats and arrange a few sections on each plate.

©Nancy Wolfson-Moche 2014

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Icing on the Cake: Testimonials

I’m very impressed by all the elements you are able to pack into the lesson without it seeming at all overwhelming: the review, the actual cooking skills, the creativity of coming up with their own dishes, the chance to present their creations, the opportunity to learn about and share thoughts on something else (in last week’s case, the feelings represented in the book), the execution of their  jobs, the responsibility for one’s station/implements and the overall following of directions…..all without losing the fun quotient. No wonder the kids love coming!  You’ve really created something special so kudos to you!

- T.