Sunday, 3 February 2008

Recipe: Green Beans with Cinnamon & Breadcrumbs


Simple and quick, this method of dealing with Beans gives them an extra dimension and sufficient heft to punch in the same weight as a strongly-flavoured beef stew, say, or roast venison. And I defy anybody to be able to identify that the spice in play is Cinnamon - far removed from any dessert connotation, used this way it has a rather muscular, four-square quality that is as much a shape in the mouth as a flavour on the tongue.

For Four, as a side serving.

Ingredients: 300g Green Beans; 50g Butter; 2 tablespoons fine Breadcrumbs (I use Leimer brand, but home-made would be ok, too - as long as they aren't too large); half a teaspoon ground Cinnamon; Salt.

Method:

1. Cook the Beans in the normal way, in boiling salted water for 7-10 minutes, until they are al dente. (Don't let them cook too far, or else they will merely go soggy subsequently). If not using them immediately, plunge them into cold water to stop them cooking further in their own heat and to retain their fresh colour.

2. In a large frying pan, melt the butter, and stir in both the Cinnamon and the Breadcrumbs. Add the Beans to the pan, and heat through, stirring everything together for five minutes or so to coat the Beans thoroughly in the Cinnamon-Breadcrumb mixture.

3. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Serve.

3 comments:

Joanna said...

Interesting, surprising. Clearly something to try - I'll try to remember this when the beans come back into season

Joanna

Pomiane said...

Fortunately, they're in season here already - or, at least, the ones from Sicily are......which is local enough for me to feel happy about at this time of year!

Saucy Dressings said...

Tried these last night. You're absolutely right, one would never identify the cinnamon, but it makes the beans taste wonderful - punchy and robust. I wonder if it would do the same for other vegetables?