Handy stove cooked side dish – no need to juggle oven space for Sunday night roast dinners and holiday feasts!
A very special Green Bean recipe!
This is not your usual “light and fresh” green bean side dish that you’ll pull out night after night. It is unapologetically indulgent and that’s exactly what this is intended to be – a special side dish for all those times when you want something that’s a cut above the usual quick ‘n easy vegetable sides that we make for quick midweek meals. You know it’s going to be a winner when I tell you it starts with THIS ……↓↓↓ Yep, THAT is what we cook the green beans in – all those tasty bacon drippings. Flavour flavour flavour!!!
What goes in Green Beans in Creamy Sauce
Think Alfredo pasta – but with beans instead of spaghetti!
Fresh green beans – because, well, this is a green beans recipe!😂 Having said that, this recipe will be terrific with carrots (cut into batons), asparagus and I’ve also published am equally delicious version using brussels sprouts; Bacon – massive flavour boost here, not only used for sprinkling the finished dish but also to saute the green beans in the drippings instead of using butter or oil; Garlic – because it appears in virtually every single savoury dish I make! Chicken or vegetable stock/broth – the idea here is to use a bit of liquid to sort-of-steam-sort-of-braise the beans in the skillet. This way, we can get a double flavour wack – sautéing in bacon drippings first, then braising in stock so it absorbs the flavour. Oh wait – THEN it’s simmered in the parmesan cream sauce, so it’s a triple flavour dose! Cream – the base of the creamy sauce. But don’t worry, I have some lower fat alternatives in the recipe for you! Parmesan – not only adds flavour into the sauce but also thickens it. If you don’t have parmesan, add small dab of mustard will provide a similar thickening effect.
How to make Green Beans in Creamy Sauce
And here’s how to make it:
What and how to serve these green beans
It’s intended as a side dish that’s a little bit fancy. Something that will take a roast chicken and turn it into a special Sunday night dinner. (Or try this one or this one or even this slow cooker one!). A vegetable side that’s worthy of a place at a holiday occasion – think Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and everything in between. Having said that though, this is rich enough, interesting enough and flavour loaded enough to be worthy of serving as a meat free main. Serve it over pasta, rice, cauliflower rice (for low carb), mash, cauliflower mash, quinoa or other starchy vehicle of choice. Or just some bread for mopping. YUM. – Nagi x PS For those who noted the crossed out “meat free” – if you really want/need to make it meat free: skip the bacon, use butter and proceed with recipe. Then finish with a sprinkle of pangrattato (that’s fancy Italian speak for croutons) or store bought crispy fried shallots (the Asian kind) or, in a nod to good ole’ Green Bean Casserole, a scattering of hot crispy fried onions (homemade or store bought). PPS UPDATE: Reader made a terrific suggestion – use it as a sauce over grilled or pan seared proteins, like pork chops or breast. Perfection!
Watch how to make it
Life of Dozer
Harnessed up, ready to go! He comes everywhere with me. 🙂 PS The harness he’s wearing is a brand called Sleepy Pod which I got for him a few years back after (alarmingly) discovering that the one I was using that was sold as “crash tested” but was NOT certified (ie it didn’t pass the crash test!!). Hence furious (and immediate) researching to find a harness that passed a crash test which led me to Sleepy Pod harnesses. Pricey, but worth it, especially with a large 40kg/80lb dog like Dozer (for the both his safety and those in other cars).
