A Couple of Scrumptious and Utterly Simple Green Bean Recipes

Green Beans with Red Curry is another recipe that seems too simple to produce such awe in the mouth. Like most great dishes the trick is to find the freshest, tastiest green beans possible.

Our Green Bean Pate however is every bit as delicious prepared with frozen beans.

Fresh marjoram makes the pate scream with bright flavor but dried will work as well.

An odd assortment of ingredients are ready to be blended!

Walnuts AND hard-boiled eggs make this a high protein pate without loads of saturated fat.

Okay there are more attractive means of serving the pate than in the photo seen above, dolloped next to an herb salad and portobello mushroom  burger. Try presenting the green bean pate in well-chilled ramekins, with triangles of toasted  pita bread, as an appetizer course. Leftover pate is an excellent sandwich spread, topped with sliced onions and bread and butter pickles.

GREEN BEANS WITH RED CURRY

In a large saucepan heat 2 T. vegetable or coconut oil over a medium-high flame. Add 3 T. red curry paste and saute for one minute, stirring constantly. Add 3/4 cup peeled and diced potatoes and 4 T. minced onion. Stir-fry vigorously for two minutes. Now add 5-6 cups vegetable stock and stir to combine well with the curry paste.

Bring to a low boil and cook at this consistent temperature, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue cooking until over half the liquid has been reduced, stirring now and then as needed.

Serve hot or warm with rice or as a side dish. Optional garnishes: chopped cilantro or Thai basil, sliced scallions, diced onion.

GREEN BEAN AND WALNUT PATE

 Heat 2-3 T. vegetable or olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, add 1 very large onion, finely diced and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for a few minutes, until the onion is soft, and then add 1 lb. rinsed and chopped green beans. Stirring often, continue cooking until the beans are soft and the onions are browned, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 3/4 cup chopped walnuts and 1 T. chopped fresh marjoram. Use less marjoram if you're working with the dried herb; also, fresh oregano or dill are acceptable substitutes.

Allow to cool slightly and then transfer everything to a blender or food processor along with 1-2 chopped hard-boiled, free-running hen eggs. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Blend until smooth.

Scoop the pate from the blender into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Serve cold with bread, crostini or crackers. 

Tip: At Cafe Drake HRV we stuffed leftover pate into wonton wrappers, about 1 T. per pate per wrapper, and folded them into tortellini. Simply boil for a few minutes, drain and serve with a white sauce or in oil and garlic.