Lemony Pole Beans
Makes 4 to 6 servings
The earliest childhood memory I have from my Italian grandparents’ home in central New York is of playing among the pole bean trellises in their garden. Picking beans was the children’s job, and it was such fun hiding in the climbing vines, which grew to at least 6 feet tall; it was like a wondrous jungle to me. Similar food memories can span generations and age. One evocative account from seventeenth-century Italian writer Lodovico Castelvetro describes how “the woman of Venice could gaze unseen at passers-by from behind a screen of green pole beans growing up white trellises set in window-boxes.” Pole beans are wide, flat, and long, with a meaty texture when cooked until tender enough to meld with other flavors. Green beans or haricots verts can be substituted, and they don’t need to be blanched.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound (455 g) pole beans, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 4 to 5 thin lemon slices, any seeds removed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
DIRECTIONS
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the beans and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain, leaving some water clinging to the beans.
- Combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon slices, salt, red pepper, and thyme in a medium-large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, stir in the beans, cover, and cook over medium-low heat, undisturbed, for 5 minutes. Then cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are completely tender, 15 to 20 minutes longer. If the beans seem too dry after 10 minutes or so, add a couple tablespoons of water.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
PANTRY
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