I have discovered the perfect way to cook green beans. I can't believe I hadn't discovered it before-- and quite honestly, I know I am not the first person to figure it out. But it is like a giant light has begun to shine in my life! Because I can cook green beans perfectly every time!
I used to cook green beans several different ways. For a while, I just tossed them fresh in a pan with some garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes a little lemon zest and red pepper flakes (delicious). This method takes a long time, and they still come out pretty crunchy. Seriously, I don't have time for that. Don't get me wrong, I like crunchy green beans, but they never really tasted like they were cooked, and they weren't great at absorbing the other flavors. They were alright, but never awesome.
Then for Christmas I got a set of pots & pans that included a steamer, so I began steaming my green beans. I really liked this method because they came out with a great texture, nice and firm-- not limp, not crunchy. Steaming is also a great way to keep all of the nutrients in veggies and really get the best bang out of them. The problem with this method is that I couldn't season them well. I recently became a huge advocate of seasoning during cooking as opposed to after -- give this a try, because it will make a big difference in your foods. Salt and pepper during the process will bring out the flavor of your food, whereas putting it on after it's all done just makes it taste salty. Given the holes in the bottom of the pot when you steam, seasoning isn't really an option (unless someone knows something I don't?).
Then it struck me. There was nothing special about the meal or the day, but I really didn't feel like dealing with another batch of so-so green beans. I knew I wanted the seasoning, so the pan was the way to go, but I had no patience. I took a lesson from potato roasting: steam them a little first and they'll get a great texture and crust when you roast them. I steamed the green beans. Then I finished them off in a pan with seasonings. What!?!?!? It was AWESOME. Yes, I used capital letters because I am YELLING that these green beans were AWESOME. And let's talk about how it took less than half the time of cooking them in a pan. Seriously. Eight minutes, max. You get the amazing texture of steamed green beans and the delicious flavor of whatever seasoning you want to put on them.
My life has changed, and yours will too. Here is the recipe for perfect green beans. Read it all the way through before you start cooking:
Get a steamer. You need this. You can buy a steamer basket in the grocery store for like eight bucks, so do it. Put a little water in the bottom of a pot - enough so that when it starts boiling it won't boil away, but not enough to touch the bottom of the steamer basket. Set the pot on the stove and boil the water (you should know how to do this). While you're waiting, put a pan on another burner and set it to medium-high heat - this will get the pan nice and hot so it's ready when the beans are done steaming. Once the water is boiling, put the steamer basket and green beans in the pot and cover. The boiling water releases steam but the lid keeps the steam in so this is how the beans cook!
Steam them for about 4 minutes. They should be bright green and beautiful. While they're steaming, mince up a clove or two of garlic. When the beans are about ready to be moved to the pan, put a tablespoon or so of oil in the pan and throw the garlic in there, too. Turn the heat down if it gives you a crazy sizzle cause the garlic will burn quickly and you don't want that. Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds, which is when you should start to smell that amazing garlic smell.
It's time. Grab those green beans with some sort of kitchen utensil (tongs) and throw them in the pan. Use the tongs to mix 'em all around so they get covered with oil and garlic, then put a dash of salt and pepper in there. The beans will need to cook in the pan for about 4 more minutes. After 2 or 3, I take a lemon and zest it into the green beans. What you'll need to do this is a lemon (duh) and a zester. This is a zester. It's like a grater with tiny holes - you're just grating the lemon rind into the beans. Keep moving the lemon around though, you don't want to zest the white part of the lemon because it's bitter. If you like a little kick, you can add a dash of red pepper flakes, too.
Toss them around a little more in the pan, take a little taste test, and... Voila! You have perfect green beans. No need to thank me. Enjoy.
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