Last week we were all treated to K R Brorman’s mature and productive garden. Mine, on the other hand, is weeks behind. In part, it’s because I live at a more northern latitude and the growing season starts later, but mainly it’s because I was slow to get things started this summer.

I can report that my tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes, my Ronde de Nice zucchini are starting to make little balls of yumminess, my jalapeno peppers are far enough along I put two in my Huevos a la Mexicana this morning, and my green beans are now ready to start harvesting.

Green beans, or haricots vert, has long been a personal favorite. With butter. To prove that Fergus is really my kid, he would eat green beans all day, every day, if I let him. He gets about a cup/cup-and-a-half with his breakfast and dinner every day. He never gets tired of them.

 

So, for dinner tonight, I’ll have one of my all-time favorite green bean recipes for dinner:

GREEN BEANS IN BROWN BUTTER AND GINGER FISH SAUCE¹

1 pound fresh green beans

4 T. butter

2 T. white wine

2 T. fresh ginger, minced

1 t. red chili flakes

½ t. fish sauce

½ t. apple cider vinegar

1 t. sea salt (or Kosher)

fresh ground pepper

3 T. crushed peanuts

Celery leaves

Steam or blanch green beans for 3 minutes. Drain (if boiling) and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and cool the beans. Transfer to paper towels to dry. In a large skillet, heat butter over med-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter browns and has a nutty aroma (3-4 minutes). Turn the heat down to medium and add green beans. Add the wine, ginger, chili flakes, fish sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper in quick succession. Turn heat up to high and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and transfer beans to a platter. Garnish with celery leaves and crushed peanuts. Serve immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay. One more.

MINTY GREEN BEANS (OR PEAS)

1 T. butter

1 C. thinly-sliced spring onions

2 C. fresh green beans (or peas)

1 T. chopped mint

Zest of ½ lemon (I use the zest of a whole lemon just because I love it)

Melt the butter over low heat, add onions and ¼ t. sea salt; cook covered until tender. Stir in beans (or peas) and 1 T. water; cover and cook until just tender – about 3-4 minutes. Stir in mint and zest. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

 

¹ So, here’s something interesting – I took this recipe from the Wall Street Journal years ago. It was attributed to a Chef Edward Lee of 610 Magnolia restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. When I couldn’t find my much-tattered copy of the recipe this morning, I went to my research team – Google – and found the very same recipe on Epicurious, from Maxine Bizer (same wording, too), whoever she may be. For me this begs the question: when someone invents a recipe, do they own it? Copyright it? It certainly is, if it’s included in a cookbook published by the inventor. In this internet age, all kinds of creative product are shared and appropriated without attribution to the inventor/creator/owner. As a writer, and a lawyer, this concerns me.