Green Beans Again

I just love green beans (or "haricots verts", if you prefer the fancy name) this time of year, when they're young and crisp and sweet.  This preparation is really, really easy - all you need are the green beans, some boiling water, and a handful of pitted kalamata olives. These black olives bear almost no resemblance to those ones in the can that the kids put on their fingers every year at Thanksgiving, so they're worth the time to find them.   The kind in brine would be better for this dish, but if you only have oil-cured, just add some extra olive oil add the end.

Kalamatas are pretty easy to pit - especially if you're only using a handful - just squeeze them a little and the pits pop right out.  Chop them up fairly finely and set them aside.  Chop both ends off the beans so there are no stems or tails and drop them in boiling water for 3-5 minutes.  The amount of time will depend on the size of the beans - mine were tiny and were done in about 3 minutes.  They turn a bright green color and should be a little tender, but still crispy.

Toss the green beans with some olive oil and the chopped olives, and then -- if you have the time and a spare lemon -- add some lemon zest cut into narrow strips and toss them into the dish to make it really pretty. 

The zest is the yellow portion only of the skin -- the white part is very bitter.  If you decide you want to use lemon zest often, a zester is a good investment and usually costs under $10.  The zester will take off only the zest; often they're designed so the zest comes off in thin strips, saving you that trouble as well.

Other things you can mix with plain green beans to dress them up include:  toasted almonds or walnuts, or grape or cherry tomatoes roasted in the oven.  I'll be back tomorrow with another recipe; 'til then, I'll see you at the market!