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Wax Beans with Mint Recipe

Filed under Low Carb, Quick, Seasonal Favorites: Summer, Side Dish, Vegetable, Vegetarian, Wheat-free

Wax Beans with Mint

Every weekend during the summer, if we are lucky, there will be a good supply of wax beans at the farmers market. These golden yellow (and sometimes purple) versions of green beans are harvested young, and are sweet and tender. Here is a simple way to prepare them, with the subtle flavor of a mint infusion.

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Wax Beans with Mint Recipe

Ingredients

wax-beans-mint-2.jpg

  • 1/2 pound wax beans
  • Several mint leaves
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt

Method

1 A little bit ahead of time, crush a few mint leaves (reserve some for garnish) with a mortar and pestle. Put the crushed mint leaves into a small jar and add a couple tablespoons of high quality olive oil to cover. Let sit for at least an hour if you can. The longer the mint is in the olive oil, the better the infusion.

2 Prepare the beans by cutting off and discarding the tips and ends. Snap the beans in half, if necessary, to have pieces about 2 inches in length.

3 15 minutes before serving bring an inch of water in a saucepan to a boil. Place the beans in a steamer basket in the saucepan. Cover and cook, until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Check for doneness after about 8 minutes or so. If a fork easily goes through them, they're done.

4 Remove beans from pan and place them into a serving bowl. Use a strainer to drizzle the mint-infused olive oil over the beans. Sprinkle salt over the beans to taste. (Fleur de sel would work really well with this dish.) Chop up a few more mint leaves to add as garnish.

Serves 3-4.

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Posted by Elise on Sep 8, 2006 and indexed Beans, Green Beans

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Comments

What? Wax beans grow on plants?? I thought they emerged from cans! Seriously, I've never seen these in 'live' form but will keep an eye out. Love the idea of the mint-infused oil.

Posted by: Alanna on September 8, 2006 3:27 AM

Thank you for featuring wax beans, which seem to be overlooked a lot. I will try this recipe.

Posted by: Mimi on September 8, 2006 9:19 AM

I thought it was pasta, at first! They sound good, though.

Posted by: Lady Amalthea on September 8, 2006 10:47 AM

Hi Alanna - Oh my gosh, the last time I had a snap bean from a can was over 20 years ago. You're scaring me! Wax beans are so incredibly good fresh, I can't imagine what they taste like from a can. Off season we usually use frozen green beans (Trader Joe's) which are quite good. Haven't see frozen wax beans.

Hi Jeff - Our local somewhat famous Italian chef Biba had green beans with a mint-infused olive oil on the menu recently. We had it there and loved it. I just thought it would work well with wax beans. Of course the finished product completely depends on the freshness of the beans and the olive oil.

Hi Mimi - is it the name, "wax beans"? I have no idea why these beans aren't more popular. They're delicious.

Hi Lady - indeed, they were wonderful.

Posted by: Elise [TypeKey Profile Page] on September 8, 2006 7:42 PM

It has to be the name--I know that I've never tried them because of it. The wax bean farmers of America should launch a rebranding campaign, a la "pork, the new white meat."

Posted by: Lisa (Homesick Texan) on September 9, 2006 8:27 AM

Yum. I haven't seen wax beans at our farmers' market, but I always get green beans, and I grow mint, so this is a great new idea for me. Thanks!

Posted by: Lisa on September 9, 2006 12:17 PM

Love this site! It's my first post, and just wanted to say my Italian grandmom ALWAYS used fresh mint when preparing green beans. It's especially delicious when served at room temperature as a salad with some good red wine vinegar. She always used mint in her fresh, homemade iced tea, too.

Posted by: Toni- on June 17, 2007 8:15 AM

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