Description
Green beans almondine has crunchy green beans, almonds, and bacon. It’s a simple, but impressive side dish. It’s easy enough for a weeknight, but special enough for a holiday side dish. Make it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.
Ingredients
Green beans
- 1.5 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed off, as needed
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds (slivered also work)
- 3 to 4 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces (see notes)
- 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced (can sub half white, or yellow onion)
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 to 2 wedges of lemon (for squeezing at the end)
For serving
- Extra lemon wedges
Instructions
- Prepare – Bring a medium sauce pot of water to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil, trim off the ends of the green beans as needed. I only trim off the ends that have the stem, or that are a little unsightly looking – transfer the green beans to a bowl for later. Next, thinly slice the shallot, I like to use my mandolin slicer for this job, transfer to a bowl. And, use a garlic press to finely mince the garlic. Finally, cut up the bacon. Note: see notes for how to prep portions of the recipe, if making this dish on a big holiday.
- Blanch the green beans – Prepare an ice bath by filling a large mixing bowl with cold water and plenty of ice – being sure to leave space for the green beans. Once the water has come to a boil add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt (this helps to season the green beans), followed by the green beans. Allow the green beans to cook in the hot water for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the green beans have turned bright green. The green beans should be nice and crunchy, but not “raw” tasting anymore. Drain the green beans using a colander in the sink, then immediately transfer them to the ice bath. Allow them to sit in the ice bath for 5 minutes, or until the green beans are nice and cold. Note: You can blanch the green beans another minute if you want them a little more tender, but keep in mind that they will continue to get cooked just a little bit at the end.
- Dry the green beans – Drain, and remove all the ice and transfer the green beans to a kitchen towel, or paper towels and pat them dry. It is important that the green beans aren’t super wet, otherwise they will make a mess when they are added to the pan of bacon grease.
- Toast the almonds – Add the almond slices to a large, dry skillet (I like my 12 inch cast iron skillet), and turn the heat on medium. Toast the almonds for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are smelling nutty, and lightly golden in color. Be careful not to let the almonds burn, this can happen quickly. Transfer the almonds to a dish, set aside.
- Cook the bacon – Turn the heat under the same skillet we used for the almonds to medium high heat, once nice and hot, add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally until the fat of that bacon has rendered, and the bacon pieces are pretty crispy. Remove the bacon, and lay it on a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
- Cook the shallot – Turn the heat down to medium low, remove excess bacon grease, reserving 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease. Note: if omitting the bacon, use 1 tablespoon of avocado oil, or light olive oil instead of the bacon grease. Add the shallot, along with a few pinches of kosher salt and cook the shallot, stirring frequently, just until the shallot is tender, and a little translucent.
- Sauté the green beans – Add the green beans, along with the minced garlic to the pan with the shallots. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cook for about 3 minutes, tossing the green beans with tongs frequently – just until the garlic is fragrant, and the green beans are hot. Remove from the heat.
- Season the green beans – Add the 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper to the green beans – toss to combine. Add the lemon zest, and squeeze 1 lemon wedge over the green beans, toss to combine. Taste, and adjust the seasonings as needed, add another squeeze of lemon juice, if needed, as well.
- To serve – Transfer the green beans to a serving dish and add the crispy bacon and toasted almonds on top. Feel free to mix some of them in as well. I like to garnish with a few extra lemon wedges so people can grab them to add extra lemon to their green beans, if desired – plus, it looks pretty. Serve the green beans immediately.
Notes
Bacon – you can easily omit the bacon if you want these green beans to be a bit leaner. If you omit the bacon, sub in 1 tablespoon of avocado oil, or light olive oil for sautéing the shallots in.
Vegan/vegetarian/dairy free version – Simply omit the bacon. Use 1 tablespoon of avocado oil, or light olive oil for sautéing the shallots and garlic.
Leftovers – If you can, it is best the store the almonds and bacon separately from the green beans. Reheat the green beans gently in the microwave, toss with a fresh squeeze of lemon, if desired, and then add the reserved bacon and almonds on top.
Serving size variations – I think the serving size for this dish can vary a lot. If you are serving it with a large holiday meal, then it might serve 6 to 8 people. If serving it as the only side dish it will serve 4 to 5.
Tips for prepping ahead – Although, this recipe is super easy, if you are making this dish to serve for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or any other large meal, it can be a huge time saver the day of to prep some of the ingredients in advance. Up to 3 days in advance you can: 1) trim the green beans. 2) blanch the green beans, dry them off completely, and store them in the fridge until ready to use. 3) toast the almonds, store them at room temp. 4) slice the shallot 5) chop the bacon. The day of: 1) cook the bacon. 2) sauté the shallots. 3) warm up the green beans in the skillet. 4) season the green beans. 5) serve. Sounds minor, but getting these steps out of the way can make the day of the big meal a lot easier.
