Everyone dislikes certain foods.
For me, it’s olives.
My friend Sam loves olives and would probably put them on just about everything if she could.
I’m just not a fan.
I even lived in Spain when I was in college, and Spain is THE place for olives.
I remember one meal in particular that my Spanish host family served me – a tuna fish, olive, and hard-boiled egg salad.
At the time, those three foods by themselves were a no-go, so the trifecta totally grossed me out.
But I had to at least TRY it because it’s rude not to in Spain (even if you’re 100% sure you won’t like it). After forcing down one nausea-inducing bite, I smiled and politely said, “It’s not my favorite” and was off the hook for the evening. Phew!
For my husband, Bill, that “thanks, but no thanks” food was green beans.
Until tonight.
Sometimes, the reason we don’t like certain foods is because we’ve only had them prepared in ways that doesn’t make them taste very good.
When most people think of green beans, for instance, images of the precut, brownish-green, mushy beans that come in a can and are then boiled to death come to mind.
Maybe you’ve only ever had canned vegetables and have never tried those same vegetable prepared a different way – roasted, sauteed, or tossed into a chili or stew.
Consider giving them a second chance…like Bill did!
To put it bluntly, we housed this recipe. We couldn’t stop eating them. They were that good.
Cooked “al dente” (AKA still crispy and brightly colored!), the green beans were tossed in a mixture of garlic, lemon, slivered almonds and a touch of sea salt. They were downright addictive.
We were licking the bowl clean, scraping up the last bits of crunchy slivered almonds before finally putting the bare dish in the sink.
My husband is a green-bean-hater no more. Mission accomplished!
Garlicky Green Beans Almondine with Lemon
Ingredients
- Equal parts water and vegetable broth (see step 1 below)
- 2 pounds green beans, ends cut off
- 3/4 cup slivered raw almonds
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled & minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil (The original recipe called for cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, which you could also use. I use coconut oil because it holds up better than olive oil when it’s heated.)
- ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
- sea salt, to taste
Directions
- Fill a large stock pot with half water, half vegetable broth and bring it to a boil. Make sure the amount of water/broth is at least twice as much as the amount of beans you intend to cook.
- Gently blanch the green beans (cook them in the boiling liquid for about 3 minutes until just al dente (brightly colored and crisp)). Drain beans in ice cold water (or put them in a bowl containing an ice water bath and set aside). This stops the cooking process.
- In a wok or large deep frying pan, heat the oil and garlic on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Don’t let the garlic brown.
- Add in the almonds and stir for about a minute. Then mix in the lemon juice and finely grated lemon zest.
- Add the cooked beans to the stir fry mixture and toss to combine and coat. Add salt to taste (I added about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of sea salt).
- Top the beans with additional lemon zest, if you prefer.
For more information about WHY green beans are so good for us (including building strong bones, filling us up, and being an anti-fat storage anti-cancer GBOMBS food according to Dr. Fuhrman) click here.
The recipe above is a variation of this recipe from Healthy Blender Girl.