Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

It's been a while since Thanksgiving, but my excuse for not posting until just recently is that the past couple of weeks have been really busy. The busiest part was that I had to write the final 10-page paper for my literature class. I turned the paper in on Tuesday evening, but then I needed to catch up on all of the other things that I had been putting off, like doing the laundry and vacuuming.

Now that the laundry is done and the house is a bit cleaner, I'm finding the time to get back to posting some of the recipes that I've been wanting to share. One of these is for lemon-garlic green beans. We had these green beans at Thanksgiving, which we celebrated with my family. I really liked how the lemon and garlic flavor of the green beans contrasted with the flavors of the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. The recipe came from the December issue of Southern Living magazine, and here is the link to the original recipe. Below is my modified recipe. The primary change is that we like the beans with a bit more lemon flavor, so I add more lemon juice and zest. If you don't have fresh basil, the beans are just as good without it.

Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
serves 6 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. fresh haricots verts or green beans
• 2 tsp. sea salt, divided
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 3 shallots OR 1 small yellow onion
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions:

Put a medium pot of water on the stove over high heat to bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of the sea salt to the water. While the water is heating, trim the ends off of the haricots verts or green beans. Finely chop or thinly slice the shallots or onion, depending on your preference, and set aside. Chop the basil and set it aside as well.

When the water has come to a boil, add the green beans to the pot and let them cook 4 to 5 minutes, until they are tender-crisp. When they are done, remove the beans from the water. If you are serving the beans later in the day, immerse them in cold water to stop the cooking process. If you are serving the beans immediately, just drain them.

While the beans are cooking, place a medium pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and let the oil heat up. When the oil is hot, add the onion to the pan and saute until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat. Then add the chopped basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Stir all of the ingredients together. Add the green beans to the pan and toss them in the onion mixture to coat them thoroughly. Serve immediately; or if you are serving the beans later in the day, place them in a bowl in the refrigerator and reheat them later in the medium pan on the stove.