Spiced Sesame Green Beans Recipe

A scrumptious new way to make fresh green beans.

Spring green beans lend themselves well to the delicious flavors in this sesame vegetable recipe. It’s quite light and fresh, yet you get all the spicy, rich flavor of the ginger, red pepper, sesame oil, peanut butter and tahini. But with a seasonal spring flare, this dish can make the perfect light lunch or a versatile side for dinner.

I came up with this recipe when I was thinking about how I could make sesame noodles in a healthier way: How about using string beans, haricots verts, or yellow waxed beans instead of noodles? I like to halve the beans lengthwise to make them look even more like noodles. The salad will keep, covered tightly, in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pound haricots verts, trimmed
�� cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon smooth peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 heaping teaspoon tahini
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons freshly snipped chives

Directions

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rapid boil.

Add the haricots verts and cook until bright green, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain and rinse under cold water.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter, tahini, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Pour over the haricots verts and let sit for 20 minutes. Garnish with the sesame seeds, pepper flakes, and chives and serve.

This recipe comes from The Modern Menu written by Kim Kushner. Photographs by Andrew Zuckerman.

Tags: