Simple Balsamic Green Beans
These simple balsamic green beans are the perfect side dish any time of year. The are particulary good with steak and perfect for ham or lamb at Easter.
I have been eating these balsamic green beans for as long as I can remember. One of my chores growing up was to pick the ends off the green beans for this dish. If it wasn’t grown in our garden, then my mother was purchasing it fresh from the market or produce truck. There weren’t any prepackaged veggies at the time, so if you wanted fresh green beans you were trimming the ends off. I absolutely hated this chore and am not sure why I never just cut the ends off with a knife, it was always pinching off the ends with my fingers and tossing the ends into a small bowl.
While I tend to buy my fresh green beans packaged and trimmed, there are times when I just grab loose fresh handfuls at the supermarket. In winter, you can make this recipe using frozen green beans. In particular, I like the french haricot vert sold at Trader Joe’s. You can just throw them straight into the boiling water and when they are tender I remove and season them.
Ingredients
Green Beans – Fresh green beans are the best but you can use frozen if necessary. The Trader Joe’s Haricot Vert are a favorite frozen one.
Garlic Cloves – Just a few garlic cloves either minced or grated gives a nice flavor.
Olive Oil – Use your favorite good quality olive oil here it makes all the difference.
Balsamic Vinegar – Use your favorite balsamic vinegar here.
How To Make Simple Balsamic Green Beans
The thing I love about this recipe is that its really easy to make, and requires very few ingredients that you probably have on hand.Â
1. If using fresh green beans make sure the ends are trimmed, then cook them in boiling water until tender. I love a good tender green bean especially when it’s not stringy.
2. After they are cooked, drain them then immediately add some minced garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. The warm beans absorb the vinegar and that’s what I think makes this dish so yummy.
3. Taste and adjust the flavoring, sometimes, it needs more vinegar or a bit more salt. If you let it sit for a bit give it a good stir before serving to ensure that more of the vinegar coats the green beans. Â
Here are a few things I think go really well with using these green beans as a side dish:
Steak
Lamb
Ham
Substitutions
1. You can use frozen green beans if needed, especially in the fall and winter.
2. Substitute in red wine vinegar for the balsamic vinegar.
3. You can use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.
Storage
Store the green beans wrapped in the refrigerator up to one day. To re-heat simply warm the green beans in the microwave or stovetop.
Balsamic Green Beans
Materials
- 1 lb Fresh green beans, ends trimmed if needed
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large stockpot of water to boil.
- While the water is coming to a boil, rinse the green beans, then trim the ends off if necessary.
- Mince the garlic cloves, then set aside.
- Once the water has boiled, add the green beans and bring the water back to a boil. Cook until they are fork tender about 5-10 min.
- Once cooked drain the green beans, then add them to a large bowl or platter. Sprinkle them with garlic, add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well and taste adding more salt and pepper or vinegar or oil as necessary.
Notes
Nutrition
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