Ina Garten – Serves 6

Sometimes vegetables are a tough sell. Childhood trauma of canned peas and vegetables cooked to death makes me cringe. So here is my hard rule: Vegetables can be served raw, roasted, or par-boiled—bonus points for getting creative and enhancing their natural, delicious flavor. In fact, let’s make that part of our goal. Doll up the veggies. 

Sally, who is a great cook and a foodie, shared this recipe with me as she told me a story from her niece’s wedding. To slip into her fancy dress, she decided to wear Spanx. Unfortunately, at the reception, the Spanx had turned into a boa constrictor and it was trying to squeeze the life out of her. 

As dinner service began, Sally, in her wisdom, decided that if she were going to eat, she would have to take action. Heading directly to the restroom, she decidedly removed the culprit. Breathing a sigh of relief, a sigh familiar to women escaping the throws of girdles from the ‘50s, pantyhose from the ‘70s, or Ditto jeans from the ‘80s. Quoting Sally, “I wiggled my fat ass out of the lycra from hell.” Then she realized the $90 Spanx were never going to fit into the teeny, tiny evening bag she was carrying. Sally, being a strong independent woman, made the only decision she could, because there was no way she was going to put them back on. As she exited the restroom, she tossed the would-be assassin (aka Spanx) into the trash and went on to enjoy the delicious dinner, dancing, and celebration of love. Upon hearing this story and her rave review of the Green Bean Gremolata, I knew I had to try it.

Beyond telling a hilarious story, Sally is a great inspiration and has a huge kitchen to create excellent dishes. She pins recipes onto Pinterest and posts “saving this for later” on Facebook. 

This gourmet dish is bright green and can be made in about 20 minutes. The lemon zest, toasty pine nuts, and herbs work so well together that you’ll never go back to mushroom green bean casserole again. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb Harcots (French green beans), trimmed
• 2 t Minced garlic (2 cloves)
• 1 T Grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 3 T Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 T Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 T Toasted pine nuts
• 2 ½ T Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch them for 2 to 3 minutes until tender but still crisp. Drain the beans in a colander and immediately put them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and preserve their bright green color. Remove from the ice bath after five minutes and wrap in a towel. Set aside in a cool location. 
• For the gremolata, toss the garlic, lemon zest, parsley, parmesan, and pine nuts in a small bowl 
• and set aside. 
• When ready to serve, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Drain the beans and pat them dry. Add the beans to the pan and sauté, turning frequently, for 2 minutes, until coated with olive oil and heated through. Off the heat, add the gremolata and toss well. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and serve hot.