Garden Beans and Red Pepper with Walnut Gremolata and Feta

Beans are usually boiled leaving them a little bland but roasting them brings out their hidden flavour. That slight char with the flavoursome gremolata makes this an elegant little side dish.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb yellow and/or green beans, trimmed

2 tsps olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 red pepper, cut in strips

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

1 tsp lemon zest

1-2 tbsps crumbled feta

1 tsp lemon juice

Toss the beans and red pepper with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Add salt and pepper then bake at 450°F for 10 minutes.

Combine the walnuts, parsley, zest, salt and pepper for the gremolata.

Once the vegetables are cooked drizzle with lemon juice then top with gremolata and crumbled feta. 

Serves 2

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Chicken and Green Bean Foil Packet

Quick and easy weeknight dinner for two with juicy, lemony chicken thighs, green beans and red pepper. I used green beans that I had taken straight from the garden to the freezer then into this dinner!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in 4 pieces each

1/4 lb fresh or frozen green beans

3 green onions, sliced

1/2 large red pepper, sliced

3 or 4 lemon slices

1 tbsp fresh rosemary

Old Bay seasoning

Take a large piece of foil and lay it on a baking sheet. Place the lemon slices down the middle. Season the chicken well with Old Bay and put on top of the lemon. Lay the green beans on either side. These green beans were still frozen, no problem.

Top it off with red pepper, green onion, rosemary and more Old Bay. Fold the sides of the foil up and crimp tightly closed.

Cook in a 450°F oven for 25-30 minutes then remove from oven and leave closed 5-10 minutes. Carefully open the foil letting the steam escape.

Serves 2

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Garlic Lemon Green Beans and Chicken

Summer's not over yet! With the last of those garden green beans and cherry tomatoes here's a packet meal that's sure to please!  

Ingredients:

1/2 lemon, sliced

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes

2 tsps minced garlic

8 oz (1 cup) green beans

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Toss the lemon slices, cherry tomatoes, garlic, green beans, olive oil, salt and pepper together. Then divide the mixture onto 2 large sheets of foil. Place the chicken breasts on top and season with salt and pepper. If your foil is large enough, bring the sides up together to seal. Or use a second sheet of foil on top of each and seal the edges well.

Place the packets on the grill over direct heat in a medium high preheated barbecue. Close the cover and cook for 20-25 minutes.

Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 2

Adapted from: thekitchn.com

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Green Bean Bundles

Elegant and easy, these little bundles will definitely be showing up on my dinner plate again! And bonus... they can be completely prepped one day in advance!

Ingredients:

400 g (just under 1 lb) French green beans

8-10 slices prosciutto

sea salt and cracked black pepper

Honey Garlic Butter:

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 tbsps honey

1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp garlic powder

First blanch the beans. Drop them into boiling water for 2 minutes, then right into a bowl of cold water. Drain and pat dry.

In a small saucepan combine the butter, honey, rosemary and garlic powder and heat just until the butter and honey are melted. Remove from heat.

Toss the beans with 1/4 cup of the butter mixture, then portion them onto prosciutto slices. Roll up and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. There should be about 8-10 beans per bundle. Brush with remaining honey garlic butter, salt and pepper. Bake at 450°F for 8-11 minutes.

Delicious with this seafood dinner, but would be equally good along side chicken, beef or pork!

Adapted from: gimmesomeoven.com

Here are the recipes for the seafood pictured here:

Shrimp Kebabs

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/shrimp-kebabs.html

Herbed Lobster Tails

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/herbed-lobster-tails.html

Baked Shrimp Scampi

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/baked-shrimp-scampi.html

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PF Chang's Spicy Green Beans

This restaurant copycat recipe is an easy, spicy side you'll want to make over and over!  I used frozen beans to save a little time, but you can always use fresh for sure.

Ingredients:

750g bag (1 1/2 lbs) frozen, thawed green beans (or fresh trimmed)

2 green onions, sliced thinly

1 tsp red pepper flakes

4 tsps minced garlic

2 tbsps sesame oil

sesame seed to garnish

Sauce:

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 tbsps low sodium soya sauce

1 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp cornstarch

First mix all the sauce ingredients, except the cornstarch, together and set aside.

Heat sesame oil in a wok or large skillet on medium high. Add the green onions, garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring for 30 seconds. Then add the green beans and stir together, cooking 3-4 minutes to heat through, a little longer if fresh. Push the beans to the outside of the pan making a well in the center. Add the cornstarch to the sauce and pour into the well. Bring to a boil then stir together with the beans. Cook 2-3 minutes. 

Serve topped with sesame seeds.

Serves 6-8

Adapted from a copycat recipe at: thegratefulgirlcooks.com

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Garden Green Beans

Green beans picked fresh from my garden. They are coming to an end now but have "bean" my best producer this season!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, whole or cut lengthwise if bigger

1 yellow pepper, cut in strips

1 onion, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsps minced garlic

14 oz canned diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp lemon pepper

1/2 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp dry oregano

Boil the beans in salted water until just tender and drain.

In a large skillet, sauté yellow pepper and onion in olive oil until tender then add the garlic for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and seasonings and heat through. 

May be made ahead a few days and re-heated when needed.

Serves 10-12

Lemony Green Bean Salad

Fresh green beans at the market are around the corner.  You can make this ahead of time for a cool side dish on a hot summer night.

Have ready:

1  lb. green beans
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced English cucumber
1 - 2 thinly sliced radishes

Cook the green beans and carrots to tender crisp, about 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse in cold water.

Mix together the ingredients for the dressing:

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps lemon juice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsps olive oil
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tsp parsley
salt & pepper to taste

The balsamic will darken the colour of the vegetables.  If you don't like the look of that, substitute balsamic with white wine vinegar.

Toss together about an hour before serving.