French Green Beans with Herbs

Simply Recipes came to the rescue for the third time with this recipe. I love having greens on Thanksgiving. It makes the table look nicer and even though this isn't the healthiest of recipes, it is a little nicer on your tummy than some of the other Thanksgiving staples. My green beans were a little thicker than your typical haricot verts, but not the usual fat size, so I'm just rolling with the name.

I modified the recipe a bit because I ran out of onion, ended up with more green beans than a pound, and subbed in dried herbs (except for parsley because I had plenty left after making artichoke dip and I added fresh sage). It tastes wonderful and I'm sure the onion would've added a little something extra, but there were plenty of onions in the stuffing to make up for that.

French Green Beans with Herbs slightly modified from Simply Recipes:

Serves 6

1 lb. thin green beans (haricot verts), trimmed
3 Tb. butter
2 Tb. parsley, chopped fine
2 Tb. sage, chopped fine
½ Tb. thyme
½ Tb. basil
½ Tb. chives
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon juice

Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Boil the beans for 2 minutes. Plunge them into the ice water to stop the cooking and set the color. Drain the beans and pat dry on a cloth or paper towel.

Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan. Cook the onions until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the green beans and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add all the herbs and some salt and pepper and toss to combine. Cook for 1 minute more. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Serve hot or at room temperature. I chose room temperature because it was easiest. This was also one of the last things I made that night, so they were slightly warmer than room temp. They were also a big hit as I think only two survived the night. This is an excellent side dish and I will be playing around with it and it might even make another appearance next year.