Feisty Green Beans

I love green beans. I will buy bags of fresh green beans in the produce section, trim them, steam them, and eat a plate full of them with a little healthy balance butter and salt.  But with my increase production in cooking and baking, my palette seems to be demanding -or at least appreciating- more complicated flavors lately.  As soon as I saw this recipe on 101 Cookbooks I knew I had to make it.  There was so much to love about it….green beans, wine, paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, sour cream…..

Verdict? Near perfection. Really.  I had to keep reminding myself not to feel guilty while eating them because they taste so good you assume they have to be unhealthy for you.  But really, the *bad ingredients* aren’t very bad at all…extra virgin olive oil and almonds are full of healthy fats, wine has flavonoids (but really you evaporate most of the wine anyways when cooking it), and I used fat free sour cream which didn’t diminish the dish at all.  So, eat and be merry!  These veggies are tasty AND healthy.  (Are you listening Paula Deen???)

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Feisty Green Beans

adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients –

• 1 pound green beans, thinly sliced (I chopped mine into about inch long pieces)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (I used Sunmaid’s Mixed Jumbo Raisins because I knew the leftovers would make for better snacking.  They ended up working great in this dish.)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I substituted garlic powder here)
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/3 cup white wine (Use whatever you like to drink since there will be a lot leftover.)
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander (I didn’t have this and just left it out…)
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• scant 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (scant-schmant.  I like spice.  I used a heaping 1/2 teaspoon.)
• 6 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes  (I didn’t include the tofu because 1- I wasn’t sure my guest would like it and 2- there was plenty of protein in the meal already with chicken as the main course.)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup / 120 ml crème fraîche or sour cream  (I used fat free sour cream)
• 1/4 cup / 3/4 oz / 20g sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/3 cup / one handful of finely chopped fresh cilantro  (I left this out since I’m not a big cilantro fan.)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions -

1. Cook the green beans in a pot of well-salted boiling water for about a minute, just long enough that they lose their raw edge. Drain and dunk in ice-cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside. (I actually steamed my beans instead of boiling and cooked them longer so that they were a bit softer than what the original recipe calls for.  Just a personal preference….)

2. In a small bowl cover the raisins with scalding hot water for five minutes, drain and set aside.

3. Heat your largest skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, garlic, onion, and bay leaves. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onions and garlic start to brown just a bit. Add the wine and cook until it has mostly evaporated. Carefully remove the bay leaves. Stir in the paprika, cumin, coriander, curry powder, salt, crushed red pepper flakes. Stir in the tofu and raisins and cook until heated through, a minute or so. Add the butter and green beans and stir until the butter has melted.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the crème fraiche (sour cream), then most of the almonds and most of the cilantro. Taste and add more salt and some pepper if you like. Serve topped with any remaining almonds and cilantro.

Inspired by a recipe in Anna Getty’s Anna Getty’s Easy Green Organic, to be published by Chronicle Books, 2010.

Picture courtesy of 101CookBooks.com because I felt a minute could not be spared to grab the camera.  I just wanted to eat!.