Title: Beans with Basil and Chives
Categories: Vegetable Side dish
Yield: 6 Servings
| 1 1/2 | lb | Fresh green beans |
| 1/4 | c | Olive oil |
| 1 | | Clove garlic, crushed |
| 1 | tb | Chopped chives |
| 1/4 | c | Diced green pepper |
| 1/4 | c | Diced red pepper |
| 1/4 | c | Diced yellow pepper |
| 1/2 | c | Boiling water |
| 1 | ts | Salt |
| 2 | tb | Fresh basil minced |
| 1/2 | c | Grated Paremesan cheese |
For this dish, only use the freshest ingredients, and use only fresh herbs.
If fresh herbs are not available, it simply will not be the same. For a
nice aesthetic touch, reserve a teaspoon of each color of diced pepper and
a few pinches of chopped chives. Also save a sprig or two of the fresh
basil (the centerpiece that looks like a flower of leaves would do nicely).
When the dish is placed in it's serving dish, sprinkle the peppers, and
chives over the cheese and top with sprigs of basil.
********************************************************************* You
may use 3/4 cup diced green pepper instead of 1/4 cup of each green, red
and yellow, or any combination thereof if the yellow and/or the red are not
available, but they add a touch of color and distinction to the dish. Take
fresh young beans and remove stem and any strings (the young ones shouldn't
have much of a string to worry about). Break them in half (or so the
segments are a couple of inches long). Heat oil and garlic in a large
frying pan (make sure it is large enough to hold all the beans). When the
oil becomes hot, add the peppers and cook slowly for 3 minutes. Add the
beans, water, salt, basil and chives and turn everything over until the
herbs and peppers are well distributed over the beans. Cover and simmer
until the beans have turned a bright green and are al'dente (tender but
still crisp; which should take about 5 minutes). Mix in 1/4 cup cheese and
sprinkle 1/4 cup on top. If you've reserved some of the diced peppers,
chives and whole basil leaves, garnish the top of the dish with these.