Charred Romano Beans with Buttermilk Herb Dressing and Crispy Shallots
Romano beans are the wide, flat cousins of the green bean. They’re not as widely available as green beans, so feel free to use whatever green beans you can get your hands on. Many Americans, when they think about green beans, think of green bean casserole: the classic Thanksgiving side dish, which usually combines green beans from a tin (awful) with cream of mushroom soup, also from a tin (doubly awful). But! There is a highlight to this dish, and that’s the crispy onions that usually garnish the top.
This is my much fresher and lighter take on the same idea, best made in summer when green beans are young and tender and haven’t yet developed the bean inside, which can make them tough and fibrous.
Ingredients 14
200 ml grapeseed oil, plus extra for tossing the beans
4 shallots, thinly sliced
300 ‒ 400 g Romano beans
Dressing
150 ml crème fraîche, see my crème fraîche recipe
50 ml buttermilk, plus extra if needed
15 ml lemon juice
1 1⁄2 tsp salt
1 heaped tablespoon dill, chopped, plus extra fronds to serve
15 g chives, snipped
10 g flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley), finely minced, plus extra leaves to serve
1⁄4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco sauce (hot sauce)
1 garlic clove, small
olive oil, for tossing beans before charring
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Method 6
Combine the and in a small sauté pan and slowly bring the heat up to medium. The shallots are cooked when they stop sizzling, meaning most of the moisture has cooked out. If they start to colour too quickly, you have heated the oil too fast, so reduce the heat a little. It should take about 8–10 minutes for them to get nice and crispy.
Lift the out of the and spread out on paper towel to drain. Season with fine salt and set aside to completely cool. They can be stored in an airtight container until you are ready to use them.
Bring a large saucepan of heavily salted water to the boil. Trim off the stem ends of the . When the water is boiling, dunk the beans for 2–3 minutes. Test after 1–2 minutes: if they’re still crunchy but soft enough not to feel raw, quickly pull them out of the water and spread them onto a wide tray to steam and cool.
Next, make your dressing. Combine the , , , , , , , , , and black pepper in a bowl. Use a microplane to finely shave the into the dressing. Whisk to combine. Add a bit more buttermilk if you want it thinner. The dressing should be a bit thicker than the consistency of thick (double/heavy) cream. Give it a taste and adjust the dressing as needed, then refrigerate until ready to use.
To char your beans, toss the cooled in a small amount of olive oil and set them over a hot grill or in a hot chargrill pan. Cook quickly until they start to caramelise and blacken in a few spots. You don’t want to overdo this; you just want to get that smoky flavour without killing the bean.
To serve, toss your warm or room temperature on a platter, drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle over the crispy . Crush a bit more black pepper over the top and garnish with the remaining and .
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Notes
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