I cannot believe that anyone will ever tire of the lemon/garlic combo which makes just about every vegetable come to life. I use it on anything green lurking in the fridge – brocollini, brussel sprouts, spinach, kale. Just sautee the veg of choice, refresh under cold water and toss in a hot pan with a dash of olive oil, golden garlic and finish off with a few scrapes of lemon zest.
Serve with fish, chicken, lentils, or eggs. And if you still have a few cloves of confit garlic in a jar use them instead of the fresh garlic.
Using lemon zest in stead of the juice for the flavour stops the beans discolouring.
Sautéed Green Beans
- 400g fine green beans, trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper - Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the beans and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes and drain.
Pour the olive oil into a large sauté pan / frying pan on medium heat and add the sliced garlic.
When the garlic is just starting to colour, add the green beans and turn up the heat to high. Season with salt and pepper and keep the beans moving around the pan to stop the garlic burning. When the beans are well coated and start to colour, turn off the heat and stir through the grated lemon zest.
Transfer to a serving plate and serve.
Note: The beans can be blanched in advance and warmed through with the oil just before serving.
The beans also taste good at room temperature if made earlier.
Have you made this dish?
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