Broccoli Rising and Green Beans
The Long and Short of It
I have been thinking about green beans, They’re green and mildly grassy-tasting, slender and seasonal. They’ve had a successful rebranding. No one calls them string beans anymore ((who wants to eat strings?). Green beans should be enjoying their summer of love. And yet they’ve been missing out. Or maybe we have. A group of us were talking last week about a tendency to fall back on the same-old-same-old recipes. Friends, I’m saying we’ve been in a green bean rut.
The’50s-era green bean casserole smothers canned green beans in canned cream of mushroom soup and tops the whole mess with canned fried onions. Still a holiday favorite among many, but not vegan, not fresh.
My mother and aunt tossed green beans in an ocean of garlic butter. Delish, although it could cause deadly breath. Even now making it with vegan butter, it just seems so retro, it cues up an entire ‘70s playlist in my head. Make it stop!
I let green beans be green beans. I tend to cook fresh green beans until they’re crisp yet tender, then ice them down to stop the cooking process. They make a great scoop for hummus and other dips. In more of a main course, green beans join an ensemble cast for a vegan salade Niçoise — the French classic summer salad minus the tuna, anchovies and egg. Fresh green beans and tomatoes sing of summer, potatoes, cooked and cooled badd substance and soak up a terrific tarragon vinaigrette, and capers and olives provide plenty of brininess without the fish. The only thing it might need is a chilled glass of rosé.
But I need to step out of my culinary comfort zone, too. There’s many kinds of green beans both bush and pole varieties. One of the hardiest, most heat-resistant is the yardlong. Also called snake bean and asparagus bean, it’s indigenous to Southeast Asia, and you’ll probably see bunches sold in Asian markets during the summer months. Yardlongs also take to the tropics well. Really well. These are from my neighbor’s garden.
The name yardlong is only a slight overstatement. You get a lot of bean for your buck (or from your neighbor, if you’re lucky). And then what? Cut them, for starters. Beans this long need to be cut so they’re not a challenge to eat. This led me to think of thoran (pronounced TOE-ran).
Thoran is one of those goodies that’s endlessly adaptable and barely a recipe. This Kerala dish, somewhere between a relish and a dry curry, combines chopped or shredded vegetables with coconut, mustard seeds and cumin, and comes together superfast. Chop the green beans into tiny rounds, add them raw to the spices in a hot pan, stirfry for a few minutes and boom, you’re done. And in a way, you’re just beginning, because changing the shape or look of a familiar vegetable opens you up to new possibilities.
My friend Jill Nussinow, the Veggie Queen has also got me fermenting green beans. And carrots. Who knows were it will end? I’ve had flings with quick pickling, but proper culturing is easy, yummy changes up and preserves seasonal abundance and does your microbiome all kinds of good. Sign up for Jill’s next fermentation class, 4pm PT/7pm ET August 15.
“Fermenting Made Simple: Three Feel Good Ferments via Zoom”
Stepping outside your comfort zone in the kitchen or in life can be scary. But it can be delicious, too. Think of the Fool in the Tarot deck. Card 0, the card of initiation. There he is, enthusiastically stepping ahead into — what? He doesn’t know. But he’s willing to give it a go, anyway. Does that make him foolish? Or brave?
Green Beans Thoran
This recipe is endlessly adaptable, quick and easy.
2 tablespoons coconut oil or a neutral oil such as grape seed
2 teaspoons mustard seed
2 teaspoons cumin seed
1 teaspoon fresh chile minced, or pinch dried chile
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups green beans chopped into teensy quarter-inch rounds*
3/4 cup dried, unsweetened coconut flakes
sea salt to taste
1 sprig curry leaves, if available **
optional garnishes: chopped toasted cashews, chopped cilantro
1 good squeeze of fresh lime juice (about 2 teaspoons) — more Caribbean than Keralan, but it adds a subtle spark of citrus
In a large skillet, preferably cast iron. heat the coconut or other neutral oil over medium-high heat.
When the oil starts to shimmer, add the cumin and mustard seed. Stir then cover with a lid. The mustard seeds will pop in a matter of minutes. When the ruckus dies down, reduce heat to medium, add the chile and turmeric and tip in the chopped green beans.
Stir so the green beans get a nice coating of the spiced oil, then add the coconut flakes and curry leaves, if you have them.
Mix together and cook for another few minutes, until the coconut smells and looks toasty, and the green beans are still bright green but yield to the tooth..
Turn off heat, add sea salt and, I suggest, a squeeze of lime juice. Pluck out the curry leaves and enjoy warm, room temperature or chilled.
*If you don’t want to trot out your knife skills for this, using a food processor is quick but the beans won’t be as pretty.
** Often sold frozen in Asian and Indian markets, and online from spice merchants including Spice Trekkers.
Looking for a printable version of this recipe? Grab it here.
Green Beans — New Tricks and Old Favorites
A fantastic French everything-in-the-pot vegetable soup
Hetty Lui McKinnon’s Provençal grain salad with green beans and lemon parsley oil
Elizabeth Andoh’s green beans in sesame miso sauce reminds me of my Tokyo days. The sauce is so luscious, you’ll love it on everything. But give green beans first dibs.
James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Solomonov shares his famous hummus recipe, topped with 16 cups of green beans.
Maybe you’ve been hearing (from me, probably) how being plant-based can impact your business, your life, the world. But you don’t know where to start. Have I got an offer for you. This Wednesday, August 9 5pm ET, sign up for the virtual event, Vegan Means Business: Embracing Plant Power.
I’ll be one of five plant-based pros sharing how plant-based can help build your brand and improve your being. Vegan has a halo for consumers with concerns over climate, health and animal welfare, but the wave of vegan celebrities and high-performing products from vegan cheese to plant-based pastry has given vegan more spiced-up sex appeal. For brands, embracing plant-based is just good business. Space is limited, so register now.
Psst — next Wednesday, August 16, 5pm ET, join me for the first-ever Broccoli Confidential. I’ll introduce you to Katie Jones of Catalyst Creamery. This vegan cheese brand is woman-owned, hemp-based, made in Florida and incredibly savory.
Cuz I love ya extras:
Learn to make homemade vegan yogurt. More cultured goodness for your gut.
Get a special offer from Catalyst Creamery
This event is free to all Broccoli Rising subscribers. Zoom link delivered direct to your inbox the day before the event. Can’t wait to see you!
Starting this fall, Broccoli Confidential programming will be part of Broccoli Rising content exclusively for paid subscribers. It’s the first of many delicious things paid subscribers can enjoy.
Fear not, free subscribers, I love you, too. Broccoli Rising will continue to come to you free and straight to your inbox every week.
You can also visit SoulfulVegan.com to find more recipes and connect with me online at YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Substack Notes.