French · Side · Easy
Haricots Verts
Slender French green beans blanched bright green and tossed in butter with shallots. Simple, elegant, perfect.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Haricots Verts, in 5 ideas
- Salting the blanching water like the sea seasons the beans from the inside out.
- The ice bath locks in the vivid green color; skip it and they go army drab.
- Dry the beans before they hit the butter or the sauce will not cling.
- Toasted sliced almonds on top make haricots verts amandine, the classic bistro version.
- They can be blanched hours ahead and finished in the butter just before serving.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 lb haricots verts, trimmed
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tsp salt, plus more for the water
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
How to make it
Directions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water.
- Blanch the beans 2 to 3 minutes until bright green and crisp-tender. Shock in the ice water to stop the cooking.
- Drain well and pat dry.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the shallot 2 minutes until soft.
- Add the beans and toss 2 minutes to warm through. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Money saver. Haricots verts are thinner than regular green beans. If you can only find regular beans, blanch 1 to 2 minutes longer.