Remember Julia's friend Blanch? She paid another visit to the kitchen! This was a variation of the green beans I made earlier and they were scrumptious! The French way of preparing most fresh vegetables starts off with blanching them, and then proceeding with the final preparation. Knowing that, I've figured out that the first thing I need to do, even before I open the cookbook, is to put on a big pot of water and get it heating up to a boil. Getting it heating early helps me get the food done on time instead of sitting and waiting for the water to heat when I get to that point. The old saying is true: "A watched pot never boils."
Preheating water also makes it seem like I'm involved in doing something important since it starts producing clouds of steam. Someone walks in the kitchen, sees steam pouring out of the pot, can't see anything through the bubbles, and asks me what I'm doing. It gives me a chance to answer, "Oh, I'm doing a complicated French cooking technique, you probably don't have the time for me to explain." Bwoooooohaaahaaahaaaa. Little do they know, all I've done is add some salt.
Moving on. Don't tell anyone, but this is a verrrry easy recipe. Ready? The fresh beans were blanched in the boiling water for a couple of minutes to lock in the color and flavor. They are taken from the water when they are just starting to sample (and were really tasty right then -- actually that't the end of the basic recipe and could be served like that). Then they're drained thoroughly using a colander (wooohoooo, more steam!) and then put into a large skillet on a medium high heat. One again, more steam! They're tossed over the heat for a few minutes to remove some of the extra moisture and then, guess what we're going to add? Hint - this if French cooking.
Of course! I added butter! Softened butter was added one small piece at a time and then, in between the butter, a little lemon juice was added. All the while I got to do that fancy pan flipping trick, that I really enjoy, and only tossed one bean out of the pan. A little salt and pepper during he process until it tasted really good. Buttery with a hint of lemon.
This was the vegetable side dish I served with the grilled salmon and Gratin Savoyard potatoes and they made a refreshing and light addition to the meal. The leftovers were great too!
Another dish that tasted great and was easy to make. Definitely looking forward to making this again in the future. Try it, you'll like it!
Bon Appetit!
Salmon, potatoes and beans. What more could someone ask for? French chocolate, perhaps?
This meal looks to die for 😍