How not to mess up green beans

My early experiments in cooking have been creative, if not sometimes quite disastrous.

One bad run occurred with a basketful of beautiful, fresh green beans. Forgetting my Foods 101 lessons, I simmered those emerald beauties in a zesty sauce of white wine, broth and lemon juice for a good 30 minutes. They came out a ghastly shade of olive drab.

In truth, those beans were very tasty. But they wouldn’t have won me any Food Network awards for style. If you want beans to be as beautiful as they taste, there are a few things to consider.

Start with high quality beans that are freshly harvested and refrigerated promptly. Right now you’ll be finding plenty of local beans of extremely grand quality. But give them a careful going over anyway.

The pod should be unblemished, relatively crisp, with small seeds. Fresh beans will have a slightly fuzzy skin.

Whatever variety of bean you encounter, the cooking principles are the same.

Chlorophyll, the pigment that puts the green in green beans, is heat and acid sensitive. Too much of either and you’ll end up with a bowl of olive drab beans.

Chlorophyll is also sensitive to the acids within the vegetable cells. It’s only after the cell membranes are altered by cooking that these acids are released and able to attack the pigment.

If the cooking pot is covered, then volatile acids condense on the underside of the lid and fall back into the pot. This results in ugly beans. So don’t cover your beans during cooking.

I prefer cooking green beans in two stages. Stage one is to drop the beans into a large pot of boiling water. As soon as the water returns to a boil, simmer for 3 to 5 minutes — just until the beans are barely tender (they’ll still have a hint of crunch).

Alternatively, I steam them in a large pot with a lid partially covering the pot, just until barely tender. Steaming retains even better flavor, but for the uninitiated, it’s easier to overcook them by this method, and thus, ruin the beautiful color.

Once the beans are cooked, whisk the pot of beans over to the sink, strain through a colander, then — unless the beans are heading straight to the table — plunge them into cold water to stop the cooking process and set the color.

At this point the beans can be refrigerated for several hours or overnight if necessary and stage two (whatever procedure called for in your recipe, such as braising or sauteeing) applied just before serving.

A very simple way with green beans

2teaspoons olive oil

1/2teaspoon sesame oil

2teaspoons finely minced fresh garlic

1 1/2cups chicken broth

1/2teaspoon soy sauce

1/4teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

1/8teaspoon ground white pepper

2to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2pounds green beans, French cut

Blanch and cool the beans as described in “Preparation and Cooking” (this can be done up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated). In a large nonreactive skillet, heat the olive and sesame oils over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, ginger root and white pepper and bring the mixture to a boil. Whisk in the mustard, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook about 1 minute, to develop the flavors. Add the green beans and continue cooking, uncovered, for another 5 minutes, or until the beans have cooked to the desired level of tenderness.

Makes six servings.

Green bean saute with wine and prosciutto

1pound fresh green beans, French-cut

1cup chopped sweet onion (such as a Walla Walla Sweet)

1/2cup chopped prosciutto

2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2cup chicken broth

1/4cup dry white wine (such as Pinot blanc or Pinot gris)

1tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Drop the beans in a large pot of boiling water. As soon as the water returns to a boil, simmer, uncovered, for 2 to 3 minutes — just until the beans are just becoming tender.

Remove the beans from the burner, strain through a colander and immediately plunge them into a large bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process and set the color; drain well and set aside or proceed with the recipe.

When ready to serve, saute the onions and prosciutto in a very large frying pan with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil until the onions are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the beans and continue to saute for about 20 seconds, then pour on the broth and cook over high heat until the broth has reduced slightly, about 1 minute. Add the wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Makes four servings.

Bring this summer salad of fresh garden beans, blue cheese and toasted hazelnuts to a picnic or barbecue potluck. The beans should marinate in the dressing for several hours or overnight.

Marinated green bean salad with toasted hazelnuts and blue cheese

1pound green beans, trimmed

1/2cup diced Walla Walla Sweet onion

Your favorite vinaigrette

1/2cup crumbled blue cheese

1/3cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (see note below)

11/2cups cherry tomatoes, halved

Fresh basil leaves for garnish

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the beans until tender-crisp, 6 to 7 minutes. Drain immediately and plunge into cold running water to stop the cooking process and set the color. Drain well, then place the beans in a medium bowl, along with the onion and the vinaigrette. Toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. (Note: the beans will not retain their bright green color, but the flavor from the marinade certainly compensates.)

To serve, drain off the marinade from the bean mixture and place the beans on a serving platter (be sure and reserve the drained vinaigrette for another use). Sprinkle with the blue cheese and nuts, then arrange the tomatoes around the perimeter of the platter. Add a few basil leaves for garnish.

Makes four to six servings.

Note on toasted hazelnuts: To toast, spread about a cup of shelled hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast in a 350-degree oven just until they begin to turn golden brown. This will only take 8 to 10 minutes, so watch them closely, as they can scorch in the blink of an eye (For a slower approach, use a 275-degree oven, which is less likely to get out of your control.).

Pour the hot nuts into the center of a rough kitchen terrycloth towel. Pull the towel up around the nuts and twist tightly, making a hobo-style pack. Let the package of nuts stand for about 5 minutes, then vigorously rub the warm nuts in the towel until most of the skins are rubbed off.

Chop enough of the toasted nuts to measure 1/3 cup.

Recipe adapted from “The Big Book of Potluck,” by Maryana Vollstedt

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.