Description
Carol Gilligan regularly offers a heaping plate of these beans to guests as part of her appetizer spread. She doesn’t use a written recipe, but I’ve created one here based on what she told me to do. Use a strong, flavorful olive oil, but use it sparingly. Everybody loves these beans!
Ingredients
Scale
- Four large handfuls of fresh string beans, stems removed
- 1/2 of a large, juicy lemon
- A generous teaspoon of table salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and throw in the beans. Cook for 1-2 minutes; they should be slightly cooked but still crisp and squeaky when you bite into them. Drain the beans in a colander and run cold water over them to stop further cooking.
- Squeeze the half a lemon into a bowl large enough to toss the beans in. Add the salt and stir vigorously until it has mostly dissolved into the juice. Add the beans to the bowl and toss well to coat them evenly with the salty lemon juice. Drizzle a little olive oil onto the beans (one or two teaspoons at most), and toss again to spread the oil around.
- Serve the beans directly from the bowl, or mound them on a plate or platter.