By now, you may have picked up that I like to play with my food. That is, I’ll look at a food item such as a condiment or maybe, let’s say, a package of frozen green beans. And it’s the holiday season. What to do, what to do. Hmmm. And there it is, the beginning, of an idea to jazz up green beans for the holiday. As I begin the process, I think about taste and colors, what will go with what.
In the back of my mind, I have to take into account how my palate differs from that of the rest of the family. I have to say they are not nearly as adventurous as I would like them to be. It’s always so disappointing. But it forces me to think how far can I go in bringing them along with me? Do I have to go so far that the end product no longer interests me? That is the breaking point, and so I have to find the middle–something they are at least willing to try, but does not go beyond the point that I’ve lost interest. I’m really sure that all of you out there who are partners and mothers can understand the dilemma.
This is my version of last year’s holiday green beans. It’s bright, colorful, and just seems a better fit for the holiday than that infamous dish with the mushroom soup that while easy, is so heavy and ugly. I also use haricot vert, those long, slender green beans. Their seeds are small, unlike those of their bigger brothers, and I prefer the taste.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Sauteed Holiday Green Beans
2 pounds frozen haricot vert (aka as french green beans)
2-3 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
3 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced and separated into rings
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons Dijon, or whole grain mustard
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar
⅔ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup orange marmalade
The peel of one orange, finely grated
½ cup vegan butter (optional)
¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Bring about 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Throw in the haricot vert for one minute, just until the color of these beans are a bright green. They will be at that crisp-tender stage. You don’t want to cook these any longer than that. Very quickly drain the haricot vert and immerse them into a large bowl of iced water. This process immediately stops the cooking and preserves the bright green color of the beans. If you need to, you can leave these in their cold bath until we are ready for them in a few minutes. I will drain mine in just a minute or two, just until I know the color is set. The longer these remain in the ice bath, the colder they will get, which then increases the remainder of the cooking time.
Heat one tablespoon of vegan butter over moderate heat until melted. (I use Earth Balance European-Style.) Add the shallots, stirring them and cooking just until they have reached that crisp-tender stage, about two minutes. Once again, you want to cook only until they are heated, but have not yet changed color. Drain the haricot vert, if you have not yet done so.
Add the minced garlic to the saute pan for the last few seconds. Add the mustard, lemon juice and cranberries, the orange marmalade, the dried cranberries and the haricot vert. Season with a pinch of pepper, stirring the vegetables. Add more of the Earth Balance if you feel you need it. Stir to heat evenly and melt the marmalade. You really won’t want to overcook this dish because as we all know we eat with our eyes first, and any green bean loses its flavor and its beautiful color if it is left on the heat for too long.
Total cooking time is about 2-4 minutes. Let the color and texture of the ingredients tell you when they have fully cooked.
In a food processor or with an immersion blender, blend the vegan butter and the pecans. You will pass this mix around the table for those wanting to top their haricot verts. Please be mindful of those with nut allergies.
A couple of notes here. First, I mostly do not cook with oil or butter. My choice is to use 2-3 tablespoons of veggie broth at a time as I need it. If you add too much, you will wind up with boiled vegetables, which is not the texture we are aiming for. I did use oil the first time I made this, because I was catering to family members who do not do wfpb. For that occasion I was catering to their tastes.
Use the veggie butter you like if you use it. This “flavor” of Earth Balance is only one of two that I can tolerate.
I also do not use salt. If I find that I “need” that taste, I will add a small splash of apple cider vinegar. But that seldoms happens for me any longer. Plus in this recipe, there will be added salt in the condiments used which will more than compensate for the lack of added salt.
You can use fresh haricot vert if you like, the blanching time will be a little longer.
There you go. Haricot Vert that are pretty on the plate as well as tasty. And perhaps, this will be the dish that convinces someone that green beans are pretty good.
Let us know if you try this and if you liked it. Did you make any changes? If so, what were they?
