Smoked Almond Garlic Green Beans

SMOKED ALMOND GARLIC GREEN BEANS

Not your typical green beans almondine. Better. Easy to make. I could make a main dish out of these beans and feel like I had a complete meal. Yet they go well with other main dishes, especially holiday ones. If you’re serving a crowd, this is a perfect side dish vegetable, requiring little effort!

Serves 6-8

1-1/2 lbs. fresh green beans – cut tips off and rinse thoroughly

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3-4 lg. peeled garlic cloves

1 c. smokehouse almonds

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3 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 c. diced red onion, 3/8 – 1/2 inch squares

salt and pepper to taste

Smoked Almond Garlic Crumble

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Place beans in steamer where water is already boiling. Steam till tender, then remove to plate.

Place garlic and almonds in food processor and process till mealy and nut crumbles begin to clump, signally some of the oil is beginning to release from the almonds.

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In extra-large skillet, over medium heat, melt oil.

Add red onion, salt and pepper, then saute till tender-soft.

Add steamed green beans all at once. Toss to coat with oil and onion, then cook till hot and tender to your liking.

Add smoked almond crumble. Lift and flip repeatedly with spatula till all beans are evenly coated with crumble. Heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Lift onto serving platter. Sprinkle with fresh grind black pepper.

Serve.

Notes: Steve and I like a strong garlic taste. Use less garlic if you want a mild presence.

My steamer broke a long time ago. Now I use a metal colander over a large soup pot. It doesn’t matter that the colander doesn’t fit snuggly into the pot. I cover it with a lid, and the lid doesn’t fit snuggly either, but it steams great anyway. Improvise.

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