Green Beans Amandine
The French bistro side: green beans blanched just-tender, tossed in browned butter with toasted flaked almonds and a squeeze of lemon.
Overview
Trimmed green beans blanch in heavily salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes until just tender (still bright green and slightly crisp). Drained but not refreshed if serving immediately, the residual heat is wanted; if making ahead, refresh in ice water to stop cooking. Butter melts in a wide pan; flaked almonds toast in the butter until both go gold-amber together (the butter browns to beurre noisette / hazelnut butter). The blanched beans toss in the butter-almond pan over high heat for 1 minute; finished with a squeeze of lemon, a grind of pepper, optional Dijon mustard or garlic, and chopped parsley.
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh green beans (haricots verts if you can find them - thinner and more elegant than ordinary green beans)
- 2 tablespoons salt (for the blanching water)
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 50 g flaked (or sliced almonds)
- 1 garlic clove (small, very finely chopped, optional)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
- salt
- pepper
- 1 lemon (cut into wedges, to serve)
Method
Stage 1 - Trim the beans
- Snap or cut the stem end off each green bean (the tip end can be left on for a tail).
- Rinse briefly.
Stage 2 - Blanch
- Bring a wide pot of water to a hard boil with the 2 tablespoons salt.
- Add the beans; cook 3-4 minutes - the beans should be just tender with a slight bite, vibrant green.
- Drain through a sieve.
- If serving immediately, do NOT refresh - keep them hot.
- If making ahead, drop into a bowl of ice water for 30 seconds to stop cooking; drain again; pat dry. They'll need 60 seconds in the pan in Stage 4 to warm through.
Stage 3 - Brown the butter with almonds
- Heat a wide non-stick frying pan or sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add the butter; let it melt.
- Add the flaked almonds.
- Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until BOTH the butter and the almonds have turned amber-gold (the butter foams, then settles, and brown sediment forms at the base - this is beurre noisette / hazelnut butter; the almonds turn from pale to golden to deep amber alongside).
- Watch closely; brown butter goes from gold to burnt in 30 seconds.
Stage 4 - Toss
- Add the optional garlic; stir 30 seconds (don't brown).
- Add the drained green beans (still warm if just-blanched; cold if refreshed) to the brown butter pan.
- Toss vigorously over high heat for 60-90 seconds - the beans should glisten with butter and pick up some almonds.
- If using Dijon mustard, add at this stage; stir to coat.
Stage 5 - Finish
- Off heat; squeeze in lemon juice.
- Scatter chopped parsley.
- Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Tip onto a wide warm plate.
- Scrape any browned butter and almonds from the pan over the beans.
- Plate with a lemon wedge.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Brown butter is the technique: "Beurre noisette" (hazelnut butter) is butter cooked past melted, past golden, until the milk solids brown and the butter smells like toasted hazelnuts. This is what makes amandine taste of more than just butter and almonds. Cook the butter and almonds together so they reach amber colour at the same time.
- Salt the blanching water heavily: The 2 tablespoons salt isn't a typo. Heavily salted blanching water is what keeps the beans vibrant green and seasons them through. Bland water gives muted-coloured beans.
- Haricots verts vs ordinary green beans: Haricots verts (French green beans) are thinner, more delicate, and cook in 2-3 minutes. Standard green beans (a bit thicker) need 4 minutes. Either works.
Storage
- Best within 30 minutes of cooking.
- Refrigerate leftovers 2 days; reheat in a hot pan with 1 teaspoon butter (microwave makes the beans rubbery and the almonds soggy).
- The blanched beans (refreshed and dried) keep refrigerated 2 days; finish with brown butter and almonds at the last moment.
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