Green beans are one of the most versatile ingredients that the summer garden offers. Easy to prepare, accessible, generally at a good price and very satisfying, they are ideal for all kinds of recipes such as a green bean stir-fry or sautéed green beans.
Some of the two recipes have these green beans with anchoviesfor which we have borrowed the recipe that the Italian Chef Gualtiero Marchesi published in the book Il grande ricettario della cucina italiana where green beans are related to salted anchovies in the recipe itself.
The result is a very tasty, powerful first course that is imbibe the flavors of the anchovy, but also of a light roasted garlic, and that makes the green beans very tasty, sometimes somewhat lacking in flavor.
As in any recipe with preserves, the better the preserve, the better the end result will be. For this reason, although we do not force you to buy the best salted anchovies, we do look for some that have meat and keep a certain bite, because they will be much more grateful.
Salted anchovies, although a priori they seem very Spanish to us, really arrived in our country in a massive way late 19th century with a huge Italian emigration -mainly Sicilian- to the Cantabrian ports to make the anchovies alla vera meatwhich is nothing more than that salting that since then has given luster to towns like Santoña.
We wash, peel and cut -if we want the latter- the green beans. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot and cook the green beans during 15 minuteslowering to medium heat once we have poured the green beans.
Meanwhile, slice a clove of garlic and chop five salted anchovies, setting them aside. Once the green beans are cooked al dentewe drain them in a strainer and reserve.
In the casserole that we have cooked the vegetables, we put the butter and the olive oil, browning the laminated garlic there. We bring the fire to low power, add the chopped anchovies and we go around.
They will most likely come undone, generating a slightly brown background. We put the green beans back in the casserole and over low heat let the whole take flavor for five minutes, stirring from time to time.
After that time we serve the green beans on a plate, decorating with a pair of whole anchovies —if we want— and ready to eat.
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With what to accompany the green beans with anchovies
It is a tasty first course for which you can use the green beans that you prefer —round, flat, Bobby or preserved. As a second course, to maintain the marine tone, you can prepare a grilled hake or a grilled chicken breast. A fried egg or a French omelette would also go well, since it allows you to solve a complete meal almost effortlessly.
Images | Jaime de las Heras
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