Fresh Green Beans, Steamed

Fresh Steamed Green Beans

Fresh green beans are so much better the the frozen, and I have no use for canned green beans.  I perfer my green beans with just a little crunch or snap when I bite into them.  For that snap I find steaming to be the best cooking method.  

photo by: Mike Licht under Creative Commons Licenses

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The Ingredients

1 pound of fresh green beans

4 slices of bacon

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons white wine, or another mildly acidic liquid, such as deluded vinegar or apple juice.    

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Sea salt to taste

Preparation

Cut the bacon into ¼-inch wide strips and fry over medium heat.

Dice the garlic, I use a garlic press, set the garlic aside in a small dish.

Wash the green beans, remove any unwanted stems, trim, cut if necessary.  I prefer long green beans that are uncut, with both the little curled pointy ends and the stem ends intact, but no stems.

Set up a steamer basket in a 6 quart saucepans add 2 cups or water and bring to boil over medium, to medium high heat. Be sure that the water is below your steamer basket, you should not be able to see any water once you place the steamer basket in the saucepan.  Add the green beans and steam for 3 to 6 minutes; you will have to test the beans as they cook. I like then al dente, cooked but still crunchy.  Place the beans in a bowl, but we are not through, keep the beans close by.

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Once the bacon is cooked crisp strain the bacon from grease.  Return approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of bacon fat grease to the pan and sauté the garlic, once the garlic starts to turn light brown add the wine to deglaze the pan.   As soon as the pan is deglazed, add the butter stir until it is melted.

Combine and toss together the beans, bacon, garlic, and the bacon sauce, together, salt to taste.

Clifton

   

Post by Clifton's Cooking Blog.