Saturday, August 22, 2009

Garlicky Roast Beans

When I was a little girl, my father used to travel for business. Not all the time, but sometimes. When he went away, my mother would not cook. I don't blame her. She cooked amazing meals whenever he was home, she deserved the break. At night, Daddy would call to check in on us and he'd always ask me if we ate our vegetables. My mother would be standing across from me nodding yes, regardless of what we'd had for dinner. When we hung up, she'd say "tomato sauce is a vegetable" or "the broccoli in the chicken with broccoli counts." I grew up just like my mother. I eat my vegetables. I do. But my husband is the one always checking, always asking, always making sure that I eat them.

All this to say, oh my god, I would eat these beans EVERY night. Without someone checking up on me. I'm also pretty sure that this treatment can be applied to other vegetables and I intend to find out. They are salty and crispy and garlicky, just delicious. I made them with these beans, called romano beans, that I found at the farmer's market. In theory they're available through the end of September, which is good, because as soon as Ryan had tasted one, his main concern was where our next beans were coming from. I'm not exactly sure myself, but we'll find them, oh yes, we'll find them.


GARLICKY ROMANO BEANS
from The Boston Globe

Ingredients:
1 lb romano beans
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 springs thyme halved
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. I did mine in the toaster oven and only had it at about 425. Toss the beans with the garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil on a large sheet pan. Spread out in a single layer. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until browned, turn them over about halfway through.

5 comments:

JMLC said...

oooh, those sound yummy. Do you think it'd work with string beans? I got some from the CSA and want to use them.

Carrietracy said...

I think it would work with string beans. I plan on trying, so if you want to do the work for me and report back here, go for it!

JMLC said...

Report: yummy with string beans too!!

mom said...

I confess, I confess. We did NOT eat our vegetables. I found out later that tomatoes are technically a fruit. Remember that. I have always hated vegetables. Maybe it came from the fact that all the vegetables in our house growing up were canned and dead, dead, dead- lest they rise again and smite us. Maybe it was the fact that my parents were card-carrying members of the clean plate club (for children) and we had to eat everything on our plates, even if they were on our plates hours (and hours) after dinner. We had to sit at the table and finish them. Ask Uncle John. I am sure he has fond memories of all of this. That said, if I had only known what I know now- vegetables are delicious (well, maybe some people don't like zucchini or eggplant, but that's ok) and they are even more delicious roasted. I'll be trying this recipe soon.

biwhitaker said...

i still have fond memories of sitting at the dinner table for what seemed like hours trying to finish the cold peas. those are bonding moments weren't part of the walton's household. the best part was always getting yelled at when the peas came back up after about 10 minutes.
i learned to like vegetables when i started going to france and italy. those people don't mess with their veggies. fresh veggies cooked properly: who needs more.

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