Like a lot of other cruelly-treated vegetables, green beans are often subjected to too much water and end up mushy and flavor-leeched. But give them another chance: they have a hidden sweet, crunchy side that emerges when you roast them! (We really can't say enough about roasting green things. Brussels sprouts, broccoli, green beans, even kale--you name it, we like to douse it in oil and bake it on high heat). The accompanying red pepper sauce is optional for those of you who, as one reader confided to me, "fear fancy sauces," but it's quite good and the leftovers will perk up whatever other veggies you're serving later this week.
1 lb. green beans or Blue Lake beans
1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Roast peppers in the broiler, turning until blackened on all sides. When peppers are completely blackened, remove from broiler and place in a paper bag to steam for about 15 minutes.
While peppers are steaming in their paper bag, lower the oven temperature to 400. Trim the ends off the green beans and chop into 1-inch pieces. Toss with olive oil and salt, spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and roast for 15-20 minutes, until browned.
When the peppers have cooled down, peel off the charred skins, discard cores and seeds and chop roughly. Throw the peppers, tomato paste, cayenne, paprika and salt in the food processor and pulse until smooth. Drizzle the resulting sauce on the now-browned green beans and serve.
6 comments:
What is with the paper bag? I'm suspicious.
What about *shudder* green peppers? Any chance of rehabilitation?
Hmm, Sarah, you're right--one could probably do this in any other closed container that would steam the peppers, and one less paper bag would be lost to messy red pepper roasting juices. Way to reduce your environmental footprint!
Honor, even Nigella Lawson hates green peppers, and they're apparently the only thing she hates. They're beyond rescue, and we have a strict no-green-peppers rule in our kitchen.
Hmmm. I'm making a veggielicious dinner party tomorrow night. Wanna come? You can bring these beans....
Tanya, I bet you have something so yummy planned and I can't wait to read about it!
i have the great fortune of living around the corner from i heart kale and recently we have been swapping left overs for one another's next day at work lunches. experiencing i heart kale household leftovers is like a perfectly prepared, well-rounded and first time ever served meal in my classroom. it is a gift. these green beans with roasted red pepper sauce came to me in a tupperware alongside mjeddra and yogurt sauce and i actually ate my lunch at 10:00 because i made the mistake of trying just a bite too early, and then i couldn't wait. they were fab. thanks.
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