Recipe File: Skillet Green Beans with Orange

| Print Post This | Like (0) | Comments (0)

THE SLENDER, TENDER French haricots verts that have emerged in upscale food markets in recent years bear no resemblance to the leathery-skinned, stout green beans our parents grew when we were kids, the kind that seemed suited only to long simmering in a pot with a chunk of really good bacon. In this recipe, we "skillet-toast" those fat beans, which adds a charred, smoky dimension to them, transforming even the toughest beans — which, truth be told, is the kind we find most often in the precincts of the U.S. we inhabit — into something as addictively delicious as salted popcorn.

Serves four. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 10 minutes cooking.
Serve these beans with Pimento-Cheese Potato Gratin and Skirt Steak With Parsley Sauce, and you have a well-rounded, knockout menu that takes only an hour to prepare.

Ingredients:
» 1 large navel orange
» 2 tsp canola oil
» 1 pound green beans, ends trimmed
» 3/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
» 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or rice vinegar
» 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
» Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
1) Finely grate the zest of the orange, and reserve it. Segment the orange and keep the sections and juice in a bowl.

2) In a large cast-iron skillet or saute pan, heat the canola oil over high heat, swirling it around the pan so it coats the bottom thinly and evenly. When the oil begins to smoke, add the beans (in batches, if necessary — don't crowd the pan) and scatter 1/2 tsp of the salt over them. Cook, stirring only every 11/2 to two minutes, until the beans are half blistered and blackened, about eight minutes. Transfer the beans to a serving platter or bowl. Lift the orange segments out of their juice (reserve the juice), and scatter them over the beans. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of the orange zest over the beans and oranges.
3) Add the vinegar, olive oil and remaining 1/4 tsp salt to the bowl of orange juice, and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Pour the dressing over the beans. Toss, and season to taste with salt, black pepper and the remaining orange zest.

Garnish it rich...with pieces of Buttermilk Fresh Cheese crumbled over the beans just before serving.

» Dixie Dudes: Find out more about the chefs in our chat with the Lee brothers

» Recipe from "The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern" ($35, Clarkson Potter)

Photo courtesy Clarkson Potter