Reducipe – Green Beans With Caramelized Onions

Posted on January 31, 2008 by Melissa
Filed Under Food, Reducipes

Sooo good! I have vivid memories of picking fresh green beans as a child. I remember searching for them like prizes, cracking off the crisp ends, and eating them raw.

They were so fresh and vibrant. Their flavor so undeniably green.

Of course, after a few bites I’d remember that they were vegetables and stop eating them but I’d cheerfully resume harvesting them and snapping off the tips.

Every time I trim green beans the aroma takes me back. I still love green beans and I enjoy serving them whenever I can. They can be dressed up in a ton of ways or served simply with butter and salt and pepper. Either way they shine in my eyes.

This recipe takes inexpensive ingredients and combines them with a little time and effort to create something extraordinary.

Caramelized onions are a fabulous companion to green beans. When you cook onions beyond translucence and start to caramelize them they develop an intense sweetness and complexity that’s simply magical. Oh, they are sooo good. The toasted almonds add a pleasant crunch and the butter really rounds out the flavor. This side dish tastes so good it graces the table at many special occasions and it’s usually the first thing cleaned off the plate.

Don’t even think about trying this with canned green beans. Something about the canning process strips them of the lovely qualities that make green beans good eats. They turn out lifeless and limp, with no traces of “green-ness”. In my opinion, canned green beans are only marginally permissible for soups and casseroles and never ok for side dishes. If you plan to serve green beans as a side dish and you can’t find them fresh, at least go with frozen.

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons canola oil
2 large sweet onions, sliced thin
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Fill a medium pot with some water. Place over high heat and bring up to boil; add a big pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook for about 5 minutes, the beans should still be crisp. Drain the beans and then run them under some cold water to stop them from cooking. Set aside.

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and toast, stirring frequently until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove the almonds from the skillet and reserve.

Return the skillet to the heat and add the butter and olive oil and heat until the butter has melted. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook stirring frequently until the onions caramelize, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the thyme, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cooked cooled green beans and almonds, and stir well to combine and heat through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serves 6.

This recipe isn’t what I’d call a quick dish because it does take some time and attention to caramelize the onions until they are just right. It is worth the effort, I promise you. If you have never tasted caramelized onions do yourself a favor and try them tonight. You will love them.

Ingredients for Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

Tips: If you notice the onions starting to burn just lower the heat a little and keep stirring. You don’t want them to burn or crisp, you want them to get incredibly soft and sweet. Make sure to pull the green beans from the water when they seem a little under done or you will risk over cooking them later on. You still want them to have some crunch left after all is said and done.

Ingredient	Cost	Ingredient	Cost
Green Beans	$3.98	Onions	$1.46
Almonds	$0.35	Thyme	$0.15
Butter	$0.12	Spices	N/A
Canola Oil	$0.18	Total	$6.24 or $1.04 a serving

Short of growing the green beans and thyme at home I’m not sure how this recipe could get much cheaper. Enjoy!

Comments

5 Responses to “Reducipe – Green Beans With Caramelized Onions”

Lauren on February 1st, 2008 10:39 pm

This is a great recipe! It looks amazing. Actually all of your recipes do! Tomorrow I am definitely going to make this and your baked dijon salmon. I’m trying hard to cut back on my eating costs and I am so happy that I found your blog.

Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Make it from scratch blog carnival - Feburary 5th 2008 | Harvest of Daily Life on February 5th, 2008 12:04 am

[...] could take your freshly grown green beans and onions to make Melissa’s Green Beans With Caramelized Onions [...]
Vegetarian Carnival #13: something for everyone! on February 18th, 2008 12:13 am

[...] presents Green Beans With Caramelized Onions posted at A Penny [...]
vigilant20 on February 18th, 2008 9:01 am

ooo frugal and delish…great combination
frank(new comment) on September 23rd, 2009 3:43 pm

In case anyone is interested, I just found a real butter from New Zealand that is canned and sold in the US. It’s all natural with no preservatives or colorings, and has a shelf life of 10+ years without refrigeration. If you’re tired of the cheap margarine/butter that we get here, do yourself a favor and get some of this stuff. When cooking with it, it has a much better flavor. Even when just spreading it on bread you will be able to tell the difference. You can buy it by the can or even by the case at http://www.mredepot.com. They sent me a 15% discount/promotion code with my last order, and I don’t think it has an expiration date, so use it – 15%RETURN

This stuff is pretty amazing. Plus, they free range their cattle in NZ (better for the poor little moo’s) and the even sodium is lower than US butter. I think the discount works on everything on the site, so even their canned bacon, bread and cheese will be 15% off.