Quick Skillet Garlic Green Beans

Sometimes there is perfection in the simplest of things. Like a bunch of french beans, quickly sauteed in light olive oil, with a little caramelized garlic and a sprinkling of chilli flakes for heat. Served over rice, with a soft boiled egg, this is my idea of a perfect meal.

We eat beans a lot. All kinds. This long beans stir fry is a favorite. And then of course there are dried beans ( lentils) of all kinds. Red Beans and Pumpkin Eriserry, Yellow Dal and Green Mung, and another simple ever-favorite, the humble Horsegram (Muthira) What's not to love about legumes? They are inexpensive, easy and quick to cook, nutritious and delicious.

I am sharing this green beans saute with some other legume lovers over at My Legume Love Affair that was started by Susan  and is now being run by Lisa, and if you love legumes as much as we do, you should definitely join in the fun. 

Do you think beans are boring ? Or do you think of magic, and of Jack and the beans stalk? Of something amazing that can come from something so ordinary? 

Whenever I see beans, I think of my little brother. He is not so little now, but when you have a brother who is nine years younger than you, he is your first baby and will always be. My sister and I and we were fiercely protective of him from the second he was born. While my sis and I went through our share of sibling rivalry and quarrels, with my brother things were different. We big sisters were happy to pamper him. He was just the cutest little kid. Light brown eyes framed by long lashes, and the sweetest, widest smile on his chubby face. Most little girls had dolls to play with. My sister and I were lucky enough to have our own live, little doll! Yes, the poor thing had to go through a lot of tea time, dress-up and worse! 

I could not believe it when I went off to college and during that time our happy chatterbox grew into a quiet teen who towered over us at 6 feet tall. Today I cannot believe he is twenty, almost done with his studies and ready to join the work force.

But once, he was five, and a sweet little boy who, like Jack, had a beanstalk. Well, my mother planted it, but it was the five year old, whose job it was to water it and he did so, enthusiastically. One of my most cherished photographs has a disheveled, chubby little toddler, who (in my mind at least) can never grow up, dutifully watering his beans plant. And that's the image that came into my mind, looking at that bag of beans at Costco.

 

I don't shop at Costco ( a popular warehouse store that has stores across the US and some other countries) too often, but every two months or so I make a trip there, armed with a long list. I bring back giant bottles of nuts, bags of rice, cereal, pasta and sugar and other staples and very occasionally some treats like those fantastic chocolate covered berries or giant bottles of nutella that really should be out lawed. I take shopping for groceries very seriously and like to take my time, moving slowly from one aisle to the next, scanning every ingredient list and tasting samples. Grocery shopping is just one of those things I really, really enjoy. I think I just like to be surrounded by food or the promise of the many meals I will get to cook :)

This time I was happy to see a huge bag of tender green beans, and I had only this one thing in mind to do with them- sautee them with garlic, and that's all I did with the entire bag. No complaints.

Quick Skillet Garlic Green Beans

Ingredients:

• French Green Beans or String Beans- 1 1/2 pounds
• Garlic- 5 cloves sliced into wedges
• Chilli flakes- 1-2 tsp ( optional) 
• Extra light Olive Oil or Canola oil- 2 tbsp 
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Cut the end off the green beans and if you like cut them up into shorter pieces ( easier to eat this way)
Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the garlic until crisp and light brown.
Add the chilli flakes and salt and stir for a few seconds
Add the washed and cut beans and stir to cover evenly with the oil.
Cover the skillet with a lid and leave to cook, stirring occasionally.
The beans should still have a bite to them but no longer taste raw.
Serve with rice or as a side to meat or pasta. 

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