Fresh green beans add tender crunch to sides, salads, more

Green beans are coming on beautifully and their tender freshness served as a gloriously simple side dish topped only with a pat of real butter and a dash of salt has no peer. However, a multitude of easy but delectable choices make possible a greater range of venue for these mid-summer treasures. Enjoy!

Let us begin at the beginning of all green bean (haricot verts) recipes with this simple restaurant classic.

Green Beans

a L’anglaise

Prepare a large pot of water and bring to a boil with 1-2 tablespoons of salt: this sets the green and will be washed off when drained/rinsed.* Snip the stem end of a handful of beans and place in the pot when a rolling boil is reached. Cook until just tender-crisp — 3-5 minutes depending on size of beans. Drain into a colander and rinse with running water; pat dry. For serving hot, place immediately into a prepared pan of melted butter (1 tablespoon or more according to amount of beans), along with chopped fresh herbs of your choosing — tarragon, parsley, chives, etc., tossing gentlyuntilheated through. No seasoning is needed. Serve as the featured vegetable dish for any entrée.

* When using beans for salad, drain beans and flush with cold wateruntilchilled; pat dry. They are now ready for use in salads.

Green Beans

w/Pecans

1 ½ pounds green beans, trimmed as desired, prepared for hot dish

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup finely chopped green onions w/tops or shallots

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup pecan pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil and butter in a pan and sauté the scallions just until softening. Stir in the parsley and blend. Add beans and pecans, tossing and mixing lightly; season as desired, serve.

Our next recipe would blend beautifully with an Oriental-themed dinner of rice and sautéed large prawns.

Gingered

Green Beans

1 pound green beans, prepared for hot dish, tips removed and cut into ½-inch pieces

1 tablespoon butter

1 small onion very thinly sliced

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger*

¼ teaspoon crushed fennel seed

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup water

Heat butter in a large skillet; add onion, ginger, fennel and salt. Saute gently until onions are glazed and translucent. Add beans and water, stir and cover. Cook onlyuntilbeans are completely heated through. Serve in a warm bowl.

* You may use grated preserved or candied ginger if you wish.

Tip: If water is not absorbed when beans are done, cook and stir gently a bit with the lid removed.

On now, to some cold-bean offerings: We’ll begin with our pictured antipasto platter featuring Alaska King Crab. The chef designed each platter to hold antipasto for two people so you can figure amounts needed for your own gathering. Too, you can substitute tomato wedges in place of the dried tomatoes and use raw baby carrots in lieu of steamed/chilled. When purchasing King Crab legs allow ½- to 1 pound per serving; this will provide 4-8 ounces of meat when removed from the shells. (Ratio of shell-to-meat is about 50 percent.)

King Crab

Antipasto Duo

2.7 pounds crab legs in shell

8 Steamed chilled asparagus spears

1 ½ pounds mixed specialty cheeses (Feta, Fontina, Gorgonzola, etc.)

8 long green beans, prepared for cold salad, stem-end snipped

8-12 whole large mixed olives

6 baby carrots, steamed, chilled (or raw)

6 Peperoncini, drained

6-8 marinated sun-dried tomatoes or fresh tomato wedges or roasted red bell pepper strips

Parsley or lettuce for garnish

Breadsticks or other choice

Vinaigrette

Arrange all ingredients on a platter so that items needing a drizzle of vinaigrette can be easily reached.

Have a cruet of vinaigrette at hand — your own favorite, one of Litehouse’s great blends, or the simple one provided in our next recipe.

Haricots

Verts Salad

(For 2)

½ pound thin green beans, trimmed at stem ends (you may snip pointy tips if you wish), prepared and chilled.

1 tablespoon fine olive oil

1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon mixed chopped fresh herbs, mint, parsley, dillweed, etc.

Toss together all ingredients and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Chilled Green Beans

with Creamy

Horseradish Dressing

Prepare enough slender green beans to serve 4-6 people, and chill.

Make dressing:

1 tablespoon horseradish

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

1 or 2 large ripe tomatoes

Mix dressing ingredients together and chill one hour. Just before serving time, slice the tomatoes thickly and arrange around the outside of a salad platter. Pile chilled beans onto center of platter and spoon horseradish dressing atop them. Serve immediately. Great with barbecued ribs or burgers.

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com or by phone at 208-265-4688.