Fresh & {Quick} Green Beans Almondine

Switch it up this year for Thanksgiving and try these delicious Fresh & {Quick} Green Beans Almondine instead of the more traditional casserole! Easy, healthy and delicious, you can't go wrong with this recipe! Add to that the fact that these will look beautiful on your holiday table and you have absolutely every reason to try this recipe!

The History

According to thespruceeats.com the term almondine refers to an old French cooking technique from the mid nineteenth century. The original culinary term is Amandine and refers to the use of toasted almonds as a finishing touch on food prior to serving it.

The food, usually white meat, green beans or asparagus is first cooked in browned butter. Next, the food is lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon. Tossed with the toasted nuts as a final garnish, the resulting taste is fresh, lightly sweet and nutty.

Today this technique is used globally and I like it most with my green beans. With all the other carb loaded sides on my holiday table, I prefer this lighter version of green beans over the traditional, richer casserole.

The Recipe

A few basic ingredients is all it takes to put this quick green bean recipe together. The two main things to focus on is the quality of the ingredients being used and the cooking technique.

The Green Beans

If you can get French Beans, otherwise known as Haricots Verts versus regular Green Beans, I would highly recommend it. French beans are sweeter and milder than their counterparts. As such, they complement the buttery, nutty flavors of the other ingredients in this recipe.

If you can't find the french variety, then just try and pick slightly longer, thinner green beans as these tend to have a crisper texture and sweeter taste.

Keeping Your Beans Green

The main thing to remember is not to overcook your beans. Boil in salted water for no more than 5-7 minutes. They should be al dente as they will cook more during the saute stage. It's best to err on the cautious side and let them be under done rather than over done.

The next step is to put them in an ice bath after parboiling them. This shocks them and stops the cooking process, thus preserving that beautiful green.

Last of all, don't add the lemon juice till right at the end, just before serving your beans. The acid in the lemon reacts with the chlorophyll in the beans and dulls the vibrant green if added too soon. This is why leftover beans tend to discolor in the fridge.

The Almonds

The almonds should be well toasted but not burnt. You can usually gauge when they are perfectly roasted by the fragrance and color while toasting them.

The Butter

For the butter in this recipe, I like to use Kerrygold Irish Butter. This has a higher fat content as its made from the milk of grass-fed cows. As such, the taste is little short of amazing! It is more expensive than regular butter, but due to the higher fat content a little goes a long way and the depth of flavor it adds to this recipe is well worth the extra few pennies.

Flavor Add Ins

Although I like to keep my recipe simple, the addition of the following can add a bit more flavor if desired:

• Shallots (finely chopped and sauteed)
• Garlic (minced and sauteed)
• Bacon/Turkey Bacon (diced and sauteed)
• Parmesan (shaved and sprinkled on top)
• Herbs (chopped and sprinkled on top)

Storing Your Leftovers

Leftover beans can be stored in either of the following ways:

• Fridge - 3-5 days
• Freezer - 3 months

The beans can be reheated in a microwave or sauteed lightly in a pan with some butter to refresh them. They will however be a little more wilted and not as bright green as they originally were. Especially if lemon was added to them.

Pairing Options

Some recipes from the blog that these beans pair well with:

• slow-cooked-braised-beef-short-ribs
• grilled-tandoori-lamb-chops
• steak-in-air-fryer-oven
• roasted-leg-of-goat-raan
• easy-no-fuss-thanksgiving-turkey
• blackened-tilapia

As you can see, the recipe is fairly simple, but using high quality ingredients can make or break the final dish you present to your company. The difference is in Green Beans that taste sweet, nutty and lemony versus grassy.