Haricots verts à l’étouffée (Stewed Green Beans)

A few years back, I was searching for a recipe for Green Beans with a French Twist. That’s when I came upon this recipe on easy-french-food.com. Since then, I’ve made one very small adjustment – the introduction of a clove of pressed garlic. I couldn’t resist. I love garlic in just about everything, especially with stewed or sautéed vegetables.

Most recipes for sautéed green beans call for the beans to be parboiled first in salt water to retain that beautiful green color. While this recipe skips the extra fuss (so you do lose that bright green color), all the flavor of the bean remains. The beauty of this recipe is that  you can toss the beans into your sauté pan while still frozen – no fuss, no muss.

Haricots Verts à L’étouffée
(Stewed Green Beans)
1 lb frozen Thin Green Beans
1 good-size Shallot
1 Garlic Clove
2 tablespoons Butter
Fresh Finishing Salt (Gray or Blue Sea Salt) to taste
Fresh Black Pepper to taste

Rinse green beans under cold running water to thaw. Pat dry; set aside. Peel and slice shallot paper-thin. Peel garlic, set aside.

Melt the butter in a sturdy skillet on low medium heat. Add the shallots and pressed garlic, saute for about 1 minute.

Add the green beans, give a few twists of the salt and pepper mills. Toss to coat, cover tightly and allow to cook on low for about 15 minutes.