Sauteed Green Beans with Herb Butter

Fresh local green beans are in season, so I keep buying them every time I'm at the store or the farmer's market or the farm stand, or someone brings extras to work... We are eating green bean everything lately, and finding something else to do with it has become something of a challenge.

A few days ago I was sitting on my back porch, surrounded by my (mostly) herb garden, and it hit me. Herb butter! Why on earth have I not been making herb butter? And furthermore, why have I not been cooking green beans in it?

Thus a recipe was born. That's how it happens around here.

Of my available herb options, parsley and tarragon were the two we haven't eaten a ton of lately so I figured they'd work. I had no idea they would play so nicely together, but I'm glad they did. To that I added some garlic and some salt and pepper, because that seemed like the right thing to do.

First thing I did was mince the garlic and herbs, then mix them thoroughly into some softened butter. I let it stand for a few hours because that's how it worked out, but I suppose you don't have to. Just make sure you do this step first if you're going to get right into cooking the beans so the butter has time to absorb the taste of the seasonings.

When I was ready to cook, I melted another tablespoon of butter in my nonstick frying pan, then snapped the beans into something like two-inch lengths. Feel free to go shorter or leave them whole, whatever floats your boat. I wanted something I could put in my mouth without straining, but I also was feeling lazy, so two inches was a decent compromise.

I added the beans to the pan and stirred them pretty frequently to prevent burning, but also to get them nice and coated with melted butter. I love butter. This is also when I added some salt and pepper.

When the beans were crisp-tender, I added the herb butter and let it melt, then continued cooking and stirring for another few minutes until they were completely done. The next step is the most important, because while it's what increases the fat content exponentially it's also what makes them taste so darn fabulous.

Turn off the heat and let them stand for a few minutes. The butter will almost all absorb into the beans, leaving them packed with flavour and not really all that greasy. Trust me... you're not going to eat these every day, so a little splurging now and then makes your tastebuds happy.

The garlic got a little too done because I didn't stir as often as I should have (I was making other things at the same time), but that didn't really detract from the flavour or texture. I found myself wishing I had another pound of beans, because I want to try other herb mixtures next time. Odds are good we'll have more soon, though. Beans are producing like mad around here!

Sauteed Green Beans with Herb Butter

Serves 4

Herb Butter:

3 tablespoons butter, softened

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1 pound green beans, trimmed and snapped into 2-inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Combine 3 tablespoons butter with garlic and herbs, mixing well; set aside to allow flavours to meld.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick frying pan; add green beans, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes until beans are crisp-tender.

Add herb butter to pan and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes more, until beans are completely cooked and coated in butter and herbs. Let stand 3-5 minutes before serving to allow beans to absorb butter.

Serving Size: 131g

Calories: 141

Calories from Fat: 105

Total Fat: 11.7g

Saturated Fat: 7.3g

Cholesterol: 31mg

Sodium: 237mg

Total Carbohydrates: 8.9g

Dietary Fiber: 4.0g

Sugars: 1.6g

Protein: 2.4g