A recipe for the most classic of green beans
Recently, on vacation with a group of old and new friends, in a house with limited wifi and a television that did not appear capable of playing anything in a language we would understand, someone brought up the fun suggestion that we all go around and talk about which nuts were our favorites. As with any seemingly idiotic prompt, things started tame and then got heated—it shocked me to my core to hear someone proclaim that cashews were their chosen top nut.
Me? I’d go pistachio, or pine, if I was rich. But during this discussion, I also realized that walnuts have become my standby. I love the crags, the ability to easily break them up with your hands. And, as close readers of this space have learned, I’m obsessed with them in this Alison Roman green bean recipe, which is basically candy, and has swiftly risen to the top of my list of favorite ways to eat a vegetable.
So I was less than enthused to jump into this very basic green bean recipe. But with some gone unused after making a recent niçoise (hi to Bobby, and anyone new you’ve brought along here), and the rest of dinner being handled, this seemed like as good a time as any to go simple. YET. We didn’t have almonds. We did have the end of the massive bag of walnuts that have been serving us well for some time, so walnuts it was, even if almonds is the more traditional way to go.
This recipe is as easy to pull off as you can imagine, and I followed the instructions—apparently not from the The Times, nor easily found online, so who we can credit if not my father, I’m not sure, outside of the nut replacement of course. The dish was a simple and fitting side to the pork meatballs and pasta it was served with, and came together so quickly it was hard to miss my favorite umami-packed version—much.
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