Green Beans with Crisp Shallots

Mark Bittman's Green Beans with Crisp Shallots

"Michael always says 'K-I-S-S. Keep it simple, stupid.' Great advice. Hurts my feelings every time." - Dwight K. Schrute

This quote could apply to any and all recipes from Tha God Mark Bittman, the former New York Times columnist and proponent of healthy and sustainable eating.  Honestly, you could type "mark bittman (insert whatever recipe you want)" into your preferred search engine (we are a Bing household, goddamnit!) and you'd get the most straightforward and simple recipe with ingredients that you probably already have on hand, and it'll turn out pretty flippin' delicious.  Don't get me wrong, Serious Eats goes real hard in the paint, and despite it's inherent East Coast Bias, Bon Appetit is sick as hell, but if you really want some good, clean, sticky icky recipes, Marky B. is the proverbial "Sackman".     

We had some green beans on hand from the Farmers Marche, and since Mark Bittman said we should do a simple French preparation with crispy shallots, you know that's exactly what I was going to do.  Pairs well with the soothing sounds of Martin Denny's Exotica, which, as we all Shelter-In-Place, is THE perfect soundtrack to take you away to a sunny beach with a Mai Tai in hand.  Probably should make yourself a Mai Tai, too. 
  
Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs green beans

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a stockpot of water to a boil and salt it. Fill a large bowl with cold water and lots of ice cubes and keep a colander handy. To trim the beans, snap or cut off the stem end and any brown spots. Cut them into 2 inch pieces or leave them whole.


2. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until they just start to get tender but remain quite crunchy, 3 to 5 minutes depending on the size of the beans. Drain the beans immediately plunge them into the ice water. Let them sit for a minute to cool thoroughly, then drain them. You can prepare the beans up to a day before finishing in the dish. Cover well and refrigerate, and pour yourself another Mai Tai.

3. Put the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter melts, add the shallots and cook, stirring once or twice, until they're golden brown and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the shallots to a plate lined with paper towels. Leave the fat in the pan.

4. Add the green beans to the skillet, sprinkle, with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve hot or warm with the shallots on top and almonds sprinkled over if you're using them.