Green Beans: The Tolerant Vegetable

Green beans are a worldly vegetable, showing up in the cuisines of diverse cultures and tolerating a range of ingredients. The Smithsonian Magazine’s food blog, Food and Think, showed the vegetable’s versatility in an article highlighting five recipes from various cultures: Southern (American), Greek, Persian, Indian, and Chinese. Ingredients in these green-bean recipes varied from sugar and vinegar to turmeric and saffron to cumin seeds and yogurt to sherry and hot peppers. The ingredient-accommodating character of green beans inspired me recently to experiment with anchovies in my stand-by recipe for green beans, which is simply sautéed and chopped onions, garlic, celery and parsley, butter, grated ginger, and sometimes fresh tomatoes. 

A few months back, I watched a chef at my community Wegman’s market sauté anchovies as a flavor base for fresh green beans. This chef also omitted salt from the recipe to avoid an overly salty result. When I sampled the chef’s green beans, my taste buds detected nuttiness and a savory depth that lingered in my mouth.


Food Network Star Rachel Ray has touted the nutty taste of anchovies when they are sautéed in oil. I later Googled “green beans with anchovies” and netted dozens of recipes that included anchovies. I was curious, so I decided to experiment with green beans to determine for myself just how ingredient-tolerant this vegetable can be. Can I add not only anchovies, but also my stand-by ingredients plus a variety of herbs that grow in my garden? So over three weeks I bought $29.00 worth of organic green beans (next year, I'm definitely growing my own) and, I varied my ingredients three times. (Note: I refrained from including a traditional recipe here as I am attempting to show the versatility and tolerance of green beans.)

I had a fistful of fresh herbs from my kitchen garden: young parsley, oregano, and basil (not shown). 

            

                  I sauteed four anchovy fillets on medium heat in two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and gently moved the fillets around the pan with a silicone spatula. The fish dissolved in about two minutes. I had to turn the heat down slightly because of oil spattering.

            When the anchovies broke up and "melted," I added them to the raw green beans. 

           I sauteed and added more chopped onions and celery along with red and green peppers, garlic and grated ginger. 

            I added spring water to just beneath the top layer of green beans. 

                I cooked the beans on medium to medium-low for 30 minutes (adjusting to medium low after they began to boil). I like them soft without any hint of bite, but you can adjust the cooking time if you prefer your green beans to be slightly crunchy. I added the juice of 1/2 lemon, parsley, basil, and oregano. I sprinkled sea salt and white pepper to taste as beans were nearly done. 

          Variations of herbaceous ingredients that I tried include bay leaf, capers, cilantro, cumin, fennel, oregano, thyme, and even mint (not all at once, though). Soy sauce and red pepper are among my go-to ingredients for green beans as well. I like to "push the limits" and season green beans to fit the "theme" of a meal, whether it is Asian, Indian, or Southern. This tolerant and tasty vegetable is and will always be a staple in my kitchen. 

All photos in this article were taken by Alaiyo Kiasi.