I’m on a quest to serve up vegetables in a different way each week. It’s not a New Year’s resolution or anything like that, but just a general promise to be more dedicated to making vegetables enticing. So often I just rummage through my fridge or freezer and half heartedly throw a vegetable alongside whatever we’re having for dinner. And I cook them the same way every time. So every trip I make to the grocery store, now, I grab a would-be-boring vegetable and resolve to make it more interesting than my standard roast-everything method.
Last week I did this with green beans. I usually boil them in salted water until they are tender (not squeaky!) and then brown a little butter and toss them. It’s fine. It’s just what I always do! So this time, I boiled my green beans, set them aside and then tossed in some toasted pecans and blue cheese crumbles and a few dried cranberries and got everything all nice and warm and it was totally delicious. In fact, it was more exciting than the main course! The best part – it was quick and easy and shocked us out of the same ol’ routine. Not bad for a green bean.
Green Beans with Pecans and Blue Cheese
- 1 lb fresh green beans
- 1 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot of adequately salted (that’s about 1/8 cup salt per stock pot. Or more. Tastes like the ocean, at least) boil green beans until tender. Your teeth should not squeak when you chew them! Strain the green beans and set aside. In a large skillet, toast the pecans until fragrant, and then toss in the green beans, blue cheese, cranberries and a dash of salt and pepper. Add a splash of olive oil if they seem too dry, but depending on your blue cheese, you may get enough oil from it to coat the beans nicely. Don’t let your cheese burn!
The Family Meal 