- 500g/1 1lb organic green beans.
- 2 tbspn/1 oz/30g organic butter or olive oil.
- generous tsp/½ oz/15g Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic salt – or plain Celtic sea salt.
- 1 tbspn/½ oz/15g chopped fresh thyme.
- ¼ cup/2oz/60g slivered almonds, lightly toasted.
Serves 4.
- Cook the beans in boiling salted water or steam them (this is the better method for preserving the nutrients) for 5 minutes. Drain them and if not using them immediately, run under a cold top. If being really serious, plunge them into icy water.
- If everything is happening at once, towards the end of the beans cooking time, melt the butter or olive oil over a medium high heat until foaming, then whisk in the mustard, salt and half the thyme.
- Stir in the beans and cook for about another 4 minutes until the beans are cooked to taste. Personally I do not like crunchy green beans. Restaurants seem fond of serving them rather squeaky. I was once told a funny story about someone ordering green beans as a side dish in Denmark and they came raw but warm. He asked if they could be cooked a bit more – and the waiter sighed and said, ‘Oh, someone who wants 2 passes of hot water over the beans’. Anyway, I digress. If the beans were cold, then it may take longer than 4 mins to de-crunch them. But, hey. Maybe you like them crunchy – and there is nothing wrong with a crunchy bean. Blargh. Check the seasoning.
- Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle over the thyme and almonds and serve.
I found this recipe on the linked site.