© Chef Michael Smith 2018

Green Beans are one of the tastiest and healthiest vegetables in your kitchen repertoire. They’re also one of the easiest, kids love them and steaming beans is super simple. Craving an upgrade though? It’s equally easy to add the addictive scent of sage and garlic toasting in brown butter to the works. What a great way to fill Half Your Plate with classic deliciousness!

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 pound or so of fresh green beans, any woody ends trimmed away
2 tablespoons of butter
2 or 3 cloves of minced fresh garlic
10 or 12 thinly sliced fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon of salt
lots of freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup of water

Procedure

Prep the green beans. Simply trim away any ends that have a bit of bit of woody stalk attached. Leave the delightful curl on the other end intact.

Toss the butter into a saucepot over medium high heat. Swirl gently, keeping an eye on the butter as it melts and begins to foam. Eventually a tasty light brown sediment will form, 2 or 3 minutes. Quickly stir the garlic and sage into the browned butter and stir just long enough to heat the works through without browning, a minute or so.

Add the green beans, salt and pepper. Pour in the water and cover tightly. Steam until bright green, tender and tasty, just 2 to 3 minutes. Serve and share!

Variation

Green beans are often available pre-trimmed in tidy 400-gram packages, just enough for a family of 4 to 6 | Steaming cooks vegetables without drawing away vital colour, flavour and nutrients