Charred Green Beans with Walnuts

Fresh summer green beans charred over high heat and tossed with a simple shallot vinaigrette and toasted walnuts.

Course Side Dish

Keyword charred green beans

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Servings side-servings

Ingredients

Shallot Vinaigrette

1 small shallot about 15g
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Green Beans

2 tablespoons raw walnuts ½ ounce/15g
1 tablespoon high-heat sunflower oil or other neutral, high-heat oil
½ pound green beans, ends trimmed (225g)
Freshly cracked black pepper for topping

Instructions

Mince the shallot and place in a small bowl along with the rice vinegar and salt. Let the minced shallot rest in the vinegar (this will help mellow the raw shallot taste a bit).
Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Roughly chop the walnuts, place on a small sheet tray, and then into the oven. Roast until the nuts are fragrant and slightly browning, 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and set sides.
Place a large skillet over high heat with the sunflower oil (and turn on the vent if you have one). Once the skillet is hot, add the green beans. Sear the green beans until blistering, stirring only a couple of times. Searing will go quickly, so keep an eye on the beans to avoid burning them. Remove the skillet from the heat, cover, and let sit for about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, taste the beans. If still a bit firm, cover again and let rest for another 5 to 10 minutes. Tenderness will depend on the type of bean you’re using, so be sure to taste for texture.
Whisk the olive oil into the shallot mixture. When the beans are just tender, pour the shallot vinaigrette over the beans and toss to coat. Let the beans rest for another 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the beans to a platter or bowl and drizzle on any shallot vinaigrette left in the bowl. Finish with the walnuts and black pepper before serving.

Notes

Don’t be afraid to give the green beans a good char. There’s a fairly wide range between browning and burnt which is where charing lives. There should be blistered pockets on all the beans before removing from heat.

In terms of beans, I recommend biting into one raw before starting to cook. If the beans are fresh and have a lot of texture left, know you might need closer to the 10 minutes of rest time. If the beans are a bit older and already losing some of their bite, they might need closer to 5 minutes of rest time.