I’ve been making this green bean dish for Thanksgiving for several years now. I’ve never blogged about it, though, because it’s been so hard in the chaos that is Thanksgiving dinner to remember to take pictures. And what’s a post without pictures???
This year, however, I actually managed to take some a few (somewhat decent) pics! There are minimal as there were three other dishes on my stove, two in my oven, and one in my microwave (yes, microwave…mashed turnips are soooo much work. The frozen microwavable ones are totally the way to go!) Despite all the chaos, I managed to take some decent pictures (some on my real camera and some on my iPhone…not quite sure how I managed that!).
I really like this side dish. It’s light (which is the perfect accompaniment to the heavy mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sweet potatoes), yet it’s still luxurious thanks to the pine nuts. The lemon brightens everything up. It’s actually really quick to make too. I even blanched my green beans the night before to save time and space on the stove. I also minced the shallots the night before. (I highly recommend doing these two things in advance too if you decide to make this next Thanksgiving!)
Start with the green beans…
- Trim and cut 3 pounds of green beans in half.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Salt the water, then add the green beans.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3-4 minutes, until the beans are a bright green and tender-crisp.
- Drain and immediately submerge in an ice bath until completely cooled.
- Dry completely.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Melt 1 stick of unsalted butter in the skillet.
- While the butter melts, mince up 3 shallots.
- Add the shallots to the melted butter.
- Cook for several minutes, until translucent.
- Add 2¼ ounces of pine nuts.
- Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the green beans to the skillet.
- Stir to coat.
- Cook until the beans are warmed though, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat,
- Sprinkle in ½ teaspoon each of s&p.
- Squeeze in the juice from ½ a lemon.
- Stir one last time.
Serve immediately. Enjoy!
One Year Ago: Slow Cooker Leftover Turkey Chili
Lemon Butter Green Beans with Shallots & Pine Nuts (serves 8)
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 3 shallots, minced
- 2¼ ounces pine nuts
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- juice from ½ of a lemon
DIRECTIONS:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Add some salt and the green beans.
- Blanch the green beans for a couple of minutes.
- Drain the beans and put them in an ice bath until cool.
- Thoroughly dry the beans.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the butter and cook until melted.
- Add the shallots and cook until translucent and tender, about 6 minutes.
- Add the pine nuts and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the green beans and toss to combine everything.
- Cook until the beans are warm.
- Remove from the heat and add the salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
- Stir one last time before serving.
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