Weeknight Green Bean Supper

Fresh green beans, tomatoes, ground turkey, onions and other seasoning
make a quick and easy supper.

Here we have yet another green bean recipe inspired by the season.  Dr. Mariam first introduced this easy one pot dinner in our book "The Alpha Plan" which offers recipes for college-age kids and new cooks.

Although this recipe features ground turkey, you may also use ground beef or crumbled tofu.  Spices are mild so feel free to add more heat or seasoning as you desire.

Another bonus - this recipe tastes even better the next day.  Great left-overs.

Serves:  6
Prep and cook time:  about 30 minutes

1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
A package of ground turkey, 1 pound ground beef, or crumbled tofu
1 pound trimmed green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 can diced tomatoes
dash of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Saute the onions in the oil for about 3 minutes.  Add the ground protein and cook until no longer pink,  Add the green beans, tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 20-30 minutes.  Test the beans for doneness.

Sprinkle the parsley over before serving.  This dish is yummy served with pilaf or brown rice and a green salad.  We have also served the turkey version of this dish with a cauliflower/new potato mash.

Each serving offers about 320 calories, half your RDA for protein and selenium, and a third your daily requirement for iron, niacin, vitamin B6, and phosphorous.  With just shy of 4 grams fiber, be sure to balance the main dish with a high fiber side dish or two.

- Kim Fielding

Fancy Green Bean Salad



Cooked green beans with dressing.  They are about to be tossed with freekeh
and lots of fresh herbs.  Refreshing!

I picked up the latest Bon Appetit magazine, August 2014, and fell in love with the salads presented by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.  My green bean salad falls very short of their presentation, but the basic ingredients that these two genius chefs offer us make even the most basic chefs shine. 

First off, we used only home grown veggies and they aren't particularly pretty.  The green beans had been frozen then defrosted but were stringy.  The key to stringy green beans is to cut them into short pieces.  The other thing that I was missing was tahini.  After living away for almost a month, I am slowly but surely finding out what is no longer in my pantry - tahini being one of them.  Okay, so without tahini, let's make this salad work..... and it does.

Serves: 5 large helpings
Preparation time:  30  minutes

The recipe, altered from the magazine version, is as follows:

1/4 cup dried freekeh, cooked
1 pound whole green beans, trimmed, and cooked
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
A very large handful of herbs to include: parsley, cilantry, and mint

Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon diced shallot or red onion
1/2 tsp. maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste in the dressing


In a jar with a lid, add all ingredients together and shake to blend.  Place cooked freekeh and cooked green beans in a bowl.  Stir the dressing ingredients into the green bean, freekeh mix, then add the walnuts, and half of the herbs.  Put the salad onto a platter then top with the rest of the herbs.

Sadly I didn't capture a photo of the salad served on a platter with all of the herbs and nuts sprinkled atop.  But it was yummy.

Each serving offers around 200 calories and almost five grams of fiber and protein.

- Kim Fielding

Lemony Green Beans with Walnuts

Toasted walnuts and a lemony zing make this dish shine.
 

Green beans are a fixture on our Thanksgiving table.  This simple edition may be prepared in advance and served cold, room temperature or even gently reheated so not to overcook the beans.  This recipe has been adapted from one that was published by Bon Appetit, November 2009.

serves:  4                                prep time:  15 minutes

8 ounces green beans (I used prepackaged and prewashed Haricot Vert)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted in a skillet
1 lemon, peel and juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the green beans for 5 minutes.  Drain in a colander and set aside.

Meanwhile, peel off about 1/3 of the lemon's rind and slice the peel into thin slivers.   Squeeze enough lemon for about 1 tablespoon juice into a small bowl.  Add shallot, olive oil, and Dijon mustard and blend to make the dressing.

In a larger bowl, combine the cooked green beans, toasted walnuts, and lemon peel slivers.  Add the dressing and stir well.  Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.

Calories per serving comes in at about 100 calories and offers 1-1/2 grams fiber, and omega-3s from the walnuts.

- Kim Fielding

Grilled Vegetable Salad Dinner

Potatoes, peppers, eggplant, chards, red onion, green beans, and fennel sliced and ready for the grill.
 

End of summer produce is the best.  Hot days ripen tomatoes, eggplants and peppers mature, and other produce available in farmer's markets and stores is glorious.  For our cooking class I featured grilled vegetables in a pasta salad and a Nicoise salad.  Left-overs inspired this simple salad that was filling enough to sate my boy's bellies.

The vegetables were tossed only with olive oil before grilling.  The eggplant cooks quickly while the onions, fennel, chard stems, green beans, and peppers take a little longer.  Be watchful so that the veggies are neither under nor overcooked.

Composing the salad consisted of a handful of spring mix surrounded by halved cherry tomatoes.  Arugula is good also as are a variety of chopped herbs.  Next, layer on grilled veggies.  (I used them all).  Top with your choice of protein.   In this case we used thinly sliced grilled beef.  Other protein options include pressed and grilled tofu or seitan, chicken, or whatever your heart desires.

The finished product.  A salad composed of grilled and non-grilled vegetables topped with a lean protein. 

The final touch is the dressing.  As always, a freshly made vinaigrette is the first choice.  Two parts oil, one part vinegar, salt and pepper, and depending on how you feel, herbs or dry mustard.  In this case I ventured into something a little different.  I added ricotta salata which is a hard version of ricotta cheese and is crumbly.  Add a couple tablespoons of crumbled cheese to the vinaigrette and then drizzle over the composed meal.  For a vegan option, leave the cheese and meat out.  This was delicious.

One of the great things about eating healthy, besides not feeling guilty or glutteny afterwards, is that you can walk away with a sense of well-being.  A stroll after dinner with your family or spouse, your dog, or your music should end the evening and prepare you for restful sleep.

Calories for the salad with the ricotta salata dressing but not including the meat is about 550 and offers almost 15 grams of fiber and 12 grams of protein.  The measurement for this calculation included 1 cup greens, 3 cherry tomatoes halved, 2 red small red potatoes halved, a handful of green beans, 4 slices eggplant, about 1/2 head of fennel, several slices of red onion, and a couple tablespoons of vinaigrette.  All vegetables except the lettuces and tomatoes were grilled.

- Kim Fielding