Steaming vegetables is often an effective way to seal in the flavor. That said, steaming makes green beans lose their beautiful green color, because the steam travels too slowly around the beans to “sear and seal” the pores of the vegetable (take a look at your steam water the next time you try it). The microwave can work for some vegetables, like broccoli, but it toughens and wrinkles green beans.
For this recipe, a large pot of salted boiling water will not only cook your beans perfectly and bring out their flavor, but will also keep them appetizingly beautiful. The immersion of all the beans in boiling water seals their skins and cooks them from the outside in, tenderizing the skin and keeping the inside al dente (meaning “to the teeth” in Italian). Salt is an essential ingredient for this recipe, not only because it raises the boiling temperature of the beans, but also serves as a flavorant. I use two kinds of salt in this recipe. If you do not have Hawai’in clay salt, you may substitute with sea salt. There is no substitute for lavender salt, and it is really a key ingredient in this recipe.
Ingredients:
2 lbs green beans
8 cups water
1 tablespoon Hawai’in red salt
Peel from 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp lavender salt (I use Eatwell Farms brand, available at the SF Farmer’s Market or by phone here).
Instructions:
Wash beans, removing any dirt. Snap off the stringy piece at both ends of the bean and discard; then snap the bean in two and set aside. Using a vegetable peeler or a knife, carefully “peel” the rind from 1/2 of the lemon leaving as much of the white pith as possible on the lemon. Slice the lemon peel in tiny strips. Bring water and Hawai’in salt to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add the beans at once and boil for 4-5 minutes. Strain beans (if you are making this dish to serve later, blanche beans with cold water to stop from cooking). Place hot beans in bowl and toss with lavender salt and lemon peel. Serves 4
Prior to becoming a legal goddess, Tsan worked in the food industry, both as chef (in Cambridge and New Hampshire) and as an event planner (in Vail). She also ran the Culinary, Hospitality and Restaurant Management Certificate Program at UCLA Extension.
