Thursday, October 4, 2007

Roasted Veggies – An Adventure in Three Chapters

Hi everyone! (Or just Mom!) I’m back!

I haven’t been here in awhile. I am always cooking something new or good (or both new AND good!) but it seemed like I would take a bunch of pictures & then not feel like posting anything. The process here is a bit tedious – but I think I’ve figured a way around that so hopefully I’ll make this all regular or something.

Anyway, this roasting of things...it was done on different nights with different vegetables. As far as cooking goes, they are all pretty similar but I am excited about them for different reasons.

Soooo...there will be 3 different posts - kind of like a mini-series! I really know how to turn up the excitement - don't I??? Wheeeeee!

First up – String Beans…

This has become my new favorite way to eat string beans. The fabulous thing about it is that the beans don’t have to be the freshest to come out tasting wonderful.

Does anyone else leave produce in their refrigerator a little too long? Can't be just me...can it? Noooooooo! I refuse to believe that.

So let's just pretend then, that you are rummaging around, looking for something else to go with your teriyaki pork loin when suddenly...GASP! THERE IS A BAG OF STRING BEANS!

You vaguely remember purchasing this bag of string beans & you are sure when you made that purchase, they were lovely. But you have since forgotten about them & they are looking a bit…well…peak’ed.

Well, I can save your string beans. YES I CAN. Now that may seem like a fantastic claim - but it is true. Or mostly true.

Actually, Cooks Illustrated can save your string beans. Just like they saved mine...by roasting. Sounds unconventional, doesn't it? It is. And we like that around here.

So here you go...

1 lb. of string beans - cleaned
1 T olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with foil (this is really just to help with cleanup).
Cook the beans for 10 minutes - then flip the beans and cook for another 10.

Ummm...that's it. I SWEAR THIS IS REALLY GOOD!

They are going to look kind of shrivelly - but they are supposed to. And they are going to taste quite different than you are used to. Sweeter & a bit nutty. Very interesting.

I have noticed that sometimes they come out a bit on the crunchy side & others they are just, well cooked. And sometimes – you get them both ways in the same batch.

I would imagine it will vary a bit depending on the state of your beans to begin with. Either way, they are quite lovely.

The other thing that's pretty cool is that you can still make string beans this way even when it is no longer string bean season! The roasting brings out their natural sweetness. I'm even going to attempt this later in the season with frozen ones. I promise to let you know how that goes.

The magazine gave a few different options for topping these if you want to be all fancy. And they did sound tasty...to me. But there is another member of my household & oftentimes, as tasty as something may sound TO ME, this other person (who shall remain nameless) will make squidgey faces.

So my beans remain plain. :) They are still fabulous! But if anyone is interested - leave me a comment & I'll post the fanciness just for you!

Stay tuned for Chapter 2! BEETS! (Oh yeah, NOW you are excited! Hee!)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello! I am glad to see you are up and running again. I have checked in from time to time and I love to see what goodies you're cooking up!

Anonymous said...

Oh and by the way, I am the queen of going into my refrigerator and pulling out a zuchinni or a pepper or something, only to stick my finger right through the rotting mush that it has become from sitting in there so long!
Anyway, these green beans sound yummy and I will have to try them. I shall put them on next week's menu!!

Mama Strega said...

Well, here I am! I did not want to disappoint you by not responding to your blog. I too have made these delicious green beans and I can also say that they have become a favorite in our house as well. I sometimes change it a little bit by using seasoned salt and little granulated garlic along with the black pepper. They really are delicious.

Anonymous said...

I made these the other night to go along with Turkey Mignons(bacon wrapped turkey 'filet') and rice pilaf. YUM! I am not a big "green" eater - but these beans were delicious! I will definitely be adding this to my "sides" rotation!

Laura said...

We are having some of these tonight! I used to do a few different things with green beans - but this is now my go-to. I am so glad you tried it! :)