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Charlie just loves a plate of sautéed-and-steamed green beans, but on an occasion where I want a little more color and taste and texture on the table, I’ll kick things up a notch with something like this.
There are actually two other notches you can add – after finishing up the onions and beans, you can call it quits, or you can stir up this very flavorful dressing and either drizzle if over the whole dish, or pass it at the table for folks to drizzle over their beans as they like.
And then, with or without the dressing, you can sprinkle some shaved ricotta salata or feta or goat cheese over the whole shebang.
So, three recipes for the price of one.
You can absolutely, positively, no problem use regular old green beans for this recipe, but if you can find them, definitely spend the extra couple of bucks and get haricot verts, also sometimes called French green beans.
What are Haricot Verts?
Haricot verts are thin, young green beans that are more tender than their sturdier string bean cousins. They are not always available, but when you can find them, buy them, especially during the summer months at a farmers’ market when you know they are super fresh.
On the other hand, if you are buying regular string beans at a farmers’ market, hopefully those are super fresh, too.
Don’t stir the onions and shallots, or the green beans, too too often. You want all of the vegetables to have some direct semi- prolonged contact with the hot pan so that they caramelize (in the case of the shallots and onions) and just brown up a little bit (in the case of the beans).
Sautéed Haricot Verts with Red Onions and Shallots are a step up from plain green beans. A creamy dressing and a bit of cheese are optional!
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If you slice up the shallots and onion ahead of time, this dish comes together very easily and fast. It also can be made ahead altogether, and reheated on the stove or in the microwave (if using the dressing and/or cheese, add that after reheating).
You can use any color onions you like – I just liked the gentle purple of the red with the green beans.
More Green Bean Recipes!
- Green Bean Salad with Clementine Oranges and Feta
- Sautéed Green Beans and Oyster Mushrooms
- Green Beans Two Ways
- Green Beans with Chervil Vinaigrette
- Blistered Green Beans with Miso Butter
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Sautéed Haricot Verts with Red Onions and Shallots
Ingredients
Dressing (optional)
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon finely minced shallot or onion
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Haricot Verts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter divided
- 2 shallots sliced
- 1 red onion halved and thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 pound haricot verts or string beans
To serve
- Crumbled goat cheese or feta or shaved ricotta salata (optional)
Instructions
- If you are making the dressing, in a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, orange juice and zest, shallot, parsley, olive oil, vinegar, and mustard . Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Place a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter. Add the shallots and onions, season with salt and pepper and sauté for about 10 minutes until softened and slightly golden. Remove to a plate.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon olive oil or butter. Add the haricot verts and season with salt and pepper to taste. Increase the heat to medium-high, and cook for 2 minutes, only stirring once or twice until the beans are nicely coated with the butter, and browned in a spot or two. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover the pan and steam the veggies until they are bright green and almost cooked through, 3 minutes longer. Remove the lid, stir in the onions, and allow the rest of liquid to evaporate, while the vegetables finish cooking to your liking, 1 to 2 more minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve hot or warm, either with the dressing, and/orthe cheese, or without.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was very good both with and without the sauce. Goat cheese didn’t add much, but maybe that’s personal preference. I only gave it four stars because the cooking instructions for the green beans was WAY off. Two tablespoons was not nearly enough water, and the beans almost burned. I was able to salvage it by adding more water, but I almost lost the whole dish. I will definitely make it again, but I’ll be adding a lot more water. :-)