Garlic Green Beans, dressed in Olive Oil, just might be your new favorite (and flavorful!) way to cook green beans...#eatmorevegetables
Eating healthy around here, means lots of vegetables.
Prepared in many delicious ways! I have been a champion of vegetables for many years now, even coming up with and using #eatmorevegetables here on the blog. It has been a journey of discovery as well as good eating around the table that I share with my family. Don't get me wrong, I love a knob of butter dropped onto a piping hot dish of perfectly cooked vegetables before serving them. But here recently we have been dressing our vegetables a little bit differently. Right before serving we have been tossing them with a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Why, you might ask?
Plants are a rich source of Polyphenols.
What are Polyphenols? Polyphenols are plant based compounds that act as antioxidants. And we all know how important antioxidants are. It turns out that Extra Virgin Olive Oil is also rich in Polyphenols! Which is great nutritionally speaking, for good health. With nutrition out of the way, let's talk about the flavor! Because you will find the vegetables you put on the table to nourish your self and your family are even better dressing with a touch of olive oil, instead of butter.
Olive oil is not an oil I cook with, very often.
My Dad used to fry his eggs in olive oil when I was a kid. We usually had a large square can of olive oil on the counter with a tiny hole punched in opposite corners. Oil came out one corner, as air went in the other. I remember there was always a bit of an oil dribble on the counter from the last drop out of the can, as it was being place back on the counter. Right before Dad would crack and drop his eggs into a hot (but not too hot) skillet. Mom would use olive oil when she made a garbanzo bean salad. But not too many other recipes got olive oil or used olive oil as an ingredient, back then.
It turns out, that the more I learn about ingredients,
the more creative I get in the kitchen! Nutrition is why we eat, but flavor is why we enjoy, what we eat. So why not combine the two? Resulting in small but delicious changes along the way. Without actually speaking that out loud, it is exactly what I have been doing most of my life. And I have no doubt that you have, as well! We all want healthy and delicious food on the table, and creativity or the willingness to try something new, is how we get it there. And then one night I grabbed the bottle of EVOO on the counter and gave a splash to the green beans. I did not say anything because honestly I wanted to see what each of us thought, independently.
And, I wasn't sure I would enjoy the Olive Oil!
As I have already confessed, Olive Oil is not used much for cooking around here. For a couple of reasons, really good olive oil is expensive. And olive oil has a particular flavor. You could almost say that we develop a taste for Olive Oil. And I had not done that! Not with limited use in my childhood home, and later, more limited use in my own kitchen. But finding ways to use it for the flavor it offers had been enjoyable. And I will tell you right now, green vegetables of all kinds are delicious dressed in Olive Oil and today we are sharing the easy recipe for Garlic Green Beans, dressed in Olive Oil.
Some additional thoughts on this recipe:
Cook the green beans only until tender, the cooking time will vary depending if using fresh or frozen green beans.
Only use a small amount of water to cook the green beans, you will boil off any that remains after the green beans are tender.
If your family loves fresh ground black pepper, by all means use some!
Suggestions for garnishing the finished dish, chopped roasted almonds, edible flowers, thinly sliced green onion. The choice is yours, but choose something that will not overpower the flavor of the green beans.
And this same process is perfect with broccoli as well!
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
- green beans
- garlic salt
- olive oil
You will also need the following:
- 4 cup measure
- Medium sized pan with lid
- kitchen spoon
- Serving platter or bowl
Now we are ready to begin!
Garlic Green Beans, dressed in Olive Oil
by the seat of my pants!
4 c green beans, fresh or IQF frozen
garlic salt, our recipe found here.
3-4 T water
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
garnish ingredient, if desired.
Place the green beans into a medium sized saucepan, add the water. For fresh green beans, you may need slightly more water, say another tablespoon. Season with garlic salt to taste. Cover the pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and let the green beans cook for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.
Pierce a green bean with a fork, it should be cooked, yet still firm. If water is left in the pan, turn the heat up to high and boil off any water in the bottom of the pan. It should only take a minute or so.
When the pan is dry, add the olive oil and toss the green beans in the oil.
Transfer to a serving platter or bowl, garnish if desired and serve.
Storage options for Garlic Green Beans, dressed in Olive Oil. Store Garlic Green Beans, dressed in Olive Oil covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat gently before serving. I do not recommend freezing this dish for longer storage times.
You may also enjoy: 
#wholefoodingredients
#scratchmadefoodforyourfamily
#eatmorevegetables
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Printable "copy and paste" version:
Garlic Green Beans, dressed in Olive Oil
by the seat of my pants!
4 c green beans, fresh or IQF frozen
garlic salt, our recipe found here.
3-4 T water
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
garnish ingredient, if desired.
Place the green beans into a medium sized saucepan, add the water. For fresh green beans, you may need slightly more water, say another tablespoon. Season with garlic salt to taste. Cover the pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and let the green beans cook for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.
Pierce a green bean with a fork, it should be cooked, yet still firm. If water is left in the pan, turn the heat up to high and boil off any water in the bottom of the pan. It should only take a minute or so.
When the pan is dry, add the olive oil and toss the green beans in the oil. Transfer to a serving platter or bowl, garnish if desired and serve.
Storage options for Garlic Green Beans, dressed in Olive Oil. Store Garlic Green Beans, dressed in Olive Oil covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat gently before serving. I do not recommend freezing this dish for longer storage times.
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