Recipe: Speed Beans: Sauteed Frozen Green Beans

Speed Beans: Sauteed Frozen Green Beans

January 21, 2007 | Tags: sauteed - Side Dish - Vegetable

Sauteed frozen green beans has become our favorite dish. Frozen green beans you might ask, can they be any good? Well the truth is frozen vegetables are often just as flavorful, if not more, than “fresh” vegetables. Frozen vegetables are a quick, cheap and tasty way to get vegetables on your table.

These days frozen vegetables are individually flash frozen within hours of being picked. They are harvested at their peak too. Most of the time those freeze veggies have spent a couple of weeks traveling across continents and sitting on shelves before they get to your table.

One of the real benefits of the frozen veggies is that they come ready to go. You don’t need to do any prep work. They are also usually cheaper.When picking out frozen vegetables, look for the ones that come in bags instead of boxes. Also try to avoid bags with clumps of vegetables, it is usually a sign that they have been mishandled and allow to thaw and refreeze.

This New York Times article sings the praise of frozen veggies too.

The following base recipe along with the “seasonings” work great with other veggies like broccoli.

Speed Beans: Sauteed Frozen Green Beans

1 lb bag of frozen green beans, chopped or whole
1 tbs oil (vegetable, peanut or canola - anything good for sauteing)
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a 12″ non-stick over high heat.
When the oil begins to shimmer (~3 minutes), add the frozen beans.
Cook the beans, stirring every 30 seconds, until all of the ice has melted and most of the water in the pan has evaporated (~ 5 minutes).
Add the salt and continue to saute until about half the beans have started to brown.
Remove the pan from heat and serve…. or try one of the flavors below ->