I had a nice dinner prepped for Sunday evening. I mise en place all the ingredients in the morning so dinner would be quick and easy later on. It was going to be a gorgeous day, perfect to be spent at the “pool.”
I got a text from our chef friend Martin mid-afternoon asking us to come for dinner. As I mentioned before, Martin is a widow and doesn’t enjoy cooking for himself like most people. Whenever he asks us to come, we always say yes. For me, it’s such a treat having someone else to cook, plus whatever he is making is something he’s been craving.
I decided to make Sunday dinner on Tuesday night. I was making grilled glazed pork tenderloin with wild rice pilaf along with green beans almandine. Why green beans almandine? Well, I felt like pulling out another lost old-school recipe.
Green Beans almandine has been around since the mid-nineteenth century. It became a very popular holiday or dinner party side dish. All the white tablecloth fine dining restaurants had the dish on their menus as well.
Green beans almandine is basically green beans and toasted almonds. The correct name is almandine, but it was dumbed down in America and appeared in American cookbooks as almondine. Whatever!
It’s such an elegant and simple dish. I wanted to share it with you since it’s almost green bean season. I looked at a bunch of recipes; some were good, some were very good, and some were bad.
The basic recipes had blanched fresh green beans, toasted almonds, and butter. The more elevated recipes included sautéed shallots and garlic with fresh green beans, almonds, and butter. The recipes that made me say, “WTF,” used frozen green beans. Frozen? Frozen for an elegant dish?
Listen…I am not a food snob; frozen vegetables are fine for certain times and occasions. I use frozen peas all the time, but when writing a recipe for “dinner party” food, don’t tell people to use frozen green beans. Capice?
Here’s the recipe I used from the website A Beautiful Plate
Green Bean Almandine
- 1 lb French green beans (haricot verts), trimmed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 heaping cup raw sliced almonds
- 2 medium shallots, finely diced
- 2 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
- zest of one small lemon
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season the water liberally with kosher salt (it should be very salty to taste). Salting the cooking water aggressively accomplishes two tasks: it ensures that the green beans will be seasoned properly inside and out, and also helps them retain their bright green color after cooking.
- Blanch the green beans for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until they are crisp-tender and slightly squeaky between your teeth. It is important that the green beans be slightly undercooked as they will be transferred directly to the skillet and will continue cooking during this time.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat until lightly bubbling. Add the sliced almonds and sauté, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are starting to turn golden brown. Reduce the heat to low and add the chopped shallots and garlic. Sauté for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly caramelized.
- Using a large slotted spoon, tongs, or kitchen spider, transfer the blanched green beans from the boiling water directly to the skillet. Sauté briefly, gently tossing the green beans with the almond mixture until evenly combined and the green beans are tender. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice, toss once again, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.
I hope if you haven’t made or had green beans almandine in years, you put it on your make-it list this summer. If you’ve never had it before, I hope you will try it. Old school food classics are that, for the very reason, they are delicious. They are just forgotten about.