Thai-Style Green Beans

While our berries are a bust this year, I'm happy to report that most locally grown vegetables seem to have escaped the problems that have come with our strange summer weather. To wit, while they'll be late, there will be corn and tomato crops and bean bins in our green markets are already brimming with a harvest of green and gold. When such large quantities of vegetables are dumped in markets at one time, there are bargains to be found. I've blanched and frozen a bushel of beans that were purchased for pennies on the dollar and I've started searching for recipes that will allow me to serve fresh beans in new ways. I'm really happy that I found this one. It's a prize winner that was developed by Candy McMenamin, a cooking contest colleague, who has an impressive number of wins to her credit. Her beans are fast, easy and delicious and the recipe, written to serve two people, can easily be doubled. While they don't make a particularly pretty dish, the peanut sauce they are tossed with makes the beans wonderfully flavorful and I really think you'll enjoy them. Here's the recipe.

Thai-Style Green Beans...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Candy McMenamin

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon chopped shallot

1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed

Optional: Minced fresh cilantro and chopped dry roasted peanuts

Directions:

1) Combine soy sauce, hoisin sauce, peanut butter and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.

2) In a small skillet, saute shallots and ginger in oil over medium heat until crisp tender, about 2 minutes. Add green beans and cook, stirring, until crisp tender, about 3 minutes. Add reserved sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts if desired. Yield: 2 servings.