Gingered Green Beans

Here’s the second recipe from our Fall Feast. (Note the roasted butternut squash in the upper left corner of the photograph above.)

When I was deciding what to make for our dinner, I looked at the organic produce from my Full Circle box and found green beans. I also had some fresh ginger root in the refrigerator, so I decided to combine the two. The result turned out very well, and I hope you’ll like it too.

Gingered Green Beans
Serves 4 as a side dish
1/2 pound green beans, rinsed, ends trimmed, and cut in half
1 tablespoon minced ginger root
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt

To blanch the beans: Fill a 4-quart pot about 3/4 full of water. Bring water to a boil. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt (this keeps the beans bright green). Add beans to boiling water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about a minute. Drain beans, and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside until just before serving.

A few minutes before everything else is ready for your meal, heat a sauté pan over medium heat, add oil, then ginger. Sauté ginger for about 30 seconds. Add beans, and sauté about another minute or until heated through. Season with salt and serve.

Tina’s Tip: Blanching vegetables is a technique that helps me plan meals so that all of the dishes are ready at the same time, without having to time everything down to the minute. I can blanch the beans as much as a few hours in advance, if necessary, then finish preparing the dish right before serving it.