Garlicky Romano Beans ♥

Grab Romano beans, if you can find them!
Today's vegetable recipe: The hard-to-find Romano beans, simply cooked in well-salted water, then tossed in a garlic- and rosemary-infused oil. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.

~ recipe & photo updated 2008 ~

2006: Oh if there'd only been piles and piles of these gorgeous Romano beans! Ron Jones from On the Wind Farm threw a few into my bag on Saturday, betting I'd love 'em. How right he was!

Romano beans are also known as 'Italian string beans' or 'Italian pole beans' or 'Italian flat beans'. They're broader than "every day green beans" and have flat pods. They cook in a flash. And they're more tender, more velvety, more green-tasting, more alive-tasting than other beans. If I had a vegetable garden, I'd definitely grow these. If you have a vegetable garden, I recommend that you grow these and send piles and piles to me!

2008: Grab Romano beans whenever you can find them, they are really special! If the idea of garlic and rosemary don't appeal, then I'd recommend these other ideas, Green Beans with Lemon & Pine Nuts, Green Beans with a Honey-Mustard Glaze and Romano Beans in Butter-Braised Garlic.

GARLICKY ROMANO BEANS

Hands-on time: 10 minutes (if oil is already done, 15 if not)
Time to table: 15 minutes (ditto, 35 if not)
Serves 4

GARLIC- and ROSEMARY-INFUSED OIL
1 cup olive oil
a large sprig of fresh rosemary
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with flat of a knife

Heat oil, rosemary and garlic in a skillet (the larger surface area heats the oil more evenly and quickly) until the rosemary sizzles. Turn off heat and let rest for 20 minutes. Remove the rosemary and garlic.

BEANS
Salted water to cover (see Kitchen Notes)
1 pound beans, ends snapped
1 tablespoon Garlic- and Rosemary-Infused Oil
1 tablespoon good bread crumbs, optional
Salt & pepper

Bring the salted water to a boil. Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes or until done but still bright green. (They cook faster than regular green beans.) Drain and toss with the oil and bread crumbs if using. Season to taste.


KITCHEN NOTES
The garlic- and rosemary-infused oil came from another salad. But it's so good that I've now made a cup for salads and vegetables for the next couple of weeks. The beans themselves only call for one tablespoon so there's plenty leftover for other uses.
Well-salted water is so important to pulling the most flavor from green beans. I allow 1/2 tablespoon of table salt (or a tablespoon of kosher salt) per quart of water.
When a meal requires hands-on prep just before serving, I cook the beans ahead of time, then cool quickly in a bowl of ice water. I dry the beans on paper towels, then chill them until it's time to serve them. Just before serving, warm a tablespoon of the oil in a skillet, add the beans and warm through.
Skip the bread crumbs for a low-carb vegetable, especially appropriate since this is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging at South-Beach fan, Kalyn's Kitchen. This week, look for the round-up at The Inadvertent Gardener.







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© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2005


Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Those look excellent. How do you store the oil? Is there any time that you strain the garlic and rosemary out?

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  2. Good catch, Tanna. Yes do remove the rosemary and oil before using. Discard the olive oil but I'd be tempted to chop up the garlic and toss into a salad dressing or into the beans or other vegetables.

    As for storage, I don't know. Does anyone know for sure?

    My back-of-the-brain instinct says * keep the olive oil at room temperature for up to a week, * that storing in the fridge would cause cloudiness and not extend the life much longer * but that cloudiness wouldn't affect the taste * cold temperature would dampen taste so it would be best to bring to room temperature or to warm before using.

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  3. They look yummy. I haven't seen this type of beans before. I had kind of sworn off growing beans, because when they come on in the garden, I can never use them all up before they get too big and stringy, but I may reconsider. I've written down the type. Beans are so easy to grow along a fence behind some flowers, and I do have a spot where I just cut down some old lilac bushes and need something new to plant there next year.

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  4. Alanna, these look really good, and I don't think I'd ever heard of this kind of bean! Thanks for the tip and the great recipe. I've got an awfully long list that I want to grow for next year, but these really sound good...

    Genie
    The Inadvertent Gardener

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those look very good. I only grow blue lakes but I would like to try those maybe next year.

    coffeepot
    www.coffeepot.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJuly 22, 2007

    Be cautious. Infused Olive Oils setting at room temperature can bread botulism if you are not extremely careful.

    Read up:
    http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1542272

    ML

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's useful, ML, thank you.

    The 'net net' seems to be to refrigerate infused oils and to use them within a week or so.

    ReplyDelete
  8. While I never (per my comment above) was able to grow these myself, I did manage to score some at the farmer's market today, and just infused my oil. Garlicky Romano Beans are on the agenda for tonight's dinner!

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  9. This was the first recipe to surface when I searched "beans romano" today and it was absolutely perfect! Thank you.

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna