My family just
loves these green beans. Even my eight year old nephew enjoys them and asks for seconds. That's gotta count for something, right? :P
In advance, these are gonna taste worlds different than your typical green bean dish, so try to keep an open mind and don't tweak it till you've tried it my way!
You will need: Frozen green beans, (Yes, the frozen is important, I'll explain later.) Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and garlic. You'll also need sea salt, but I forgot it for this picture!
If you have access to Schwan's green beans, get 'em as they are the far and above better than any other brand we've ever tried.
Generously coat the bottom of your cast iron skillet will EVOO. If you don't have cast iron you can use stainless steel, but your finished product will lack a touch of the 'zing' which makes this dish requested rather than scorned by the kids.
Now, turn the heat on high and let it get really, really, piping hot. You want to have it spit and sputter furiously if you sprits a drop of water in it.
Throw in your frozen green beans.
Now why are they prefered frozen? With them frozen, we can cook the skin and outer bit of the bean nicely while keeping the inside firm. Nothing is worse than a limp, colorless green bean, in my estimation.
Besides, if you've ever been to a high-fluetin' restaurant and ordered green beans, you'll find that they usually come out cooked like this, al-dente.
Leave the heat on high and let them cook for 7-8 minutes. Stir them enough to keep them from burning but don't stir them too much or they won't cook properly.
While they're cooking, mince your garlic.
If you feel like getting smelly hands and dealing with lots of frustration, use a knife or traditional garlic press to crush your garlic. I used three cloves.
I happen to strongly dislike trying to mince garlic with a knife, and I've never managed to make a traditional garlic press work. I use the
Garlic Twist. This will forever change your use of garlic in the kitchen!
How does it work? Slice the root end off your garlic cloves and peel 'em. Pop them in the bowl of the twist. Close it up and twist 10 or so times. In less than 30 seconds from start to finish you'll have this...
...perfectly minced, delicious smelling garlic, with hands that are free of garlic smell!
If you use garlic on a regular basis I strongly recomend you getting your hands on one.
Lehmans carries them and if you're lucky, a local chefs store might.
Go back to the beans and check on them. Add your salt. I like a lot but here you really can play around as much as you want. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and go from there.
These are just about perfect. Notice that the skin is starting to shrivel up but they're still nice and bright green? You DO NOT want them to turn dull colored. The high heat helps them cook quickly but without over cooking. Sometimes if my skillet is extra hot they'll get a little fried brown... that's fine, it only adds to the flavor!
So, as I said, these are just about perfect. Turn off the heat.
Add your garlic and mix. I prefer adding my garlic after the beans are completely cooked rather than while they're cooking. It only takes 60 seconds for the garlic to burn in oil this hot. Plus, cooked garlic looses all it's health benefits!
Serve them up and enjoy! I like to serve them right in the cast iron skillet unless its a double-fancy-shmancy dinner in which case I'll put them in a nice serving dish.
