Is it possible to cook green beans and not have them taste so bitter?

Question

If you have a direct recipe, then bless you.

Sites are secondary.
Both appreciated!

102507 12:22

Aladdin, you may have a point...I'm trying to come up with a unique way to present to my hubby who hates 90% of all veggies. His mom tried diff ways to present them & none worked. I'm still going to try - he needs to have a better diet.

So many GREAT recipes to choose from - TOO many, in fact !
I'm asking the Yahoo Community to vote in the "best" of the best and I will go with that...
Thanks to all for contributing!

Answer 1

These dont taste bitter at all. I also substitute walnuts for the almonds, its up to you what you like best. These are nutty and warm and just great! And I omit the shallots all together b/c I abhor them but you can use either shallots or onions in this.

Green Beans with Almonds

Ingredients:

Coarse salt, to taste
2 lb. slender green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 shallots, thinly sliced
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Fill a large pot three-fourths full of lightly salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. (The beans can be prepared up to this point 1 day in advance, covered tightly and refrigerated until ready to use.)

In a large fry pan over medium heat, toast the almonds, stirring continuously, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

In the same pan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the shallots and sauté until translucent and beginning to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the beans. Sauté, stirring continuously, until heated through and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley and almonds. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10.

Answer 2

Well, if all you are concerned about is taste, The answers that use bacon are the best. That is how I cooked almost everything until my husband developed high blood pressure and cholesterol. Now I use beef boullion cubes. I will occasionally add some butter but i don't do it often because of his health.Boullion is still salty but not as fatty as bacon. He prefers the Italian green beans, I like the ones with shellys as well.I don't think it's possible to make frozen green beans taste good. Do rinse the beans before cooking them if they are canned.Be sure you cook them long and slow, even canned ones.I put my beans on before I start anything else cooking.Before I moved here I used to use this stuff called Orington Farms Ham Flavored soup base and food seasoning. I haven't been able to find it anywhere around here. If you can get some it makes GREAT beans without adding fat ! I hope you find a recipe you like! God bless!!

Answer 3

Well, first you must have fresh green beans, or no matter what you do, they will taste bad.
Here is how us ppl from the south do it. Let them cook slow and long to make them very tender. Cook with onions in the pot and bacon or ham, some butter, salt pepper, and wahtever other seasonins you like. I like to use lemon butter spice. sometimes we even add some tomatoes to this, and a bit of brown sugar, and I mean a bit. just to sweeten them up a bit. Its a little more fattening this way, but sure is doggone good eatin.
LEt us know which ones you try and if they turn out.
God bless you.

Answer 4

drain the beans and wash them thoroughly if you are using canned green beans.

for a basic heat and eat, add drained green beans to a pot, for liquid use chicken broth or water, add some smoked sausage, bacon or ham for flavor, salt and pepper, a little sugar and let it come to a boil then simmer for about 15 minutes.

for green bean bundles:
use fresh or 2 cans whole green beans.
wrap a slice of bacon around 4-5 beans and place each bundle in casserole dish. you can secure with toothpick if needed.
pour catalina dressing over all the bundles and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or till bacon is done.

for sauteed green beans:
use fresh or washed canned beans
melt some olive oil and butter together in a skillet. sautee some chopped garlic then add green beans. season with salt and pepper. let them cook about 5 minutes, stirring often, then add a little wine (red or white-doesn't matter) and a little chicken broth. put the lid on and let the liquid cook down. i like the beans a little crunchy but cook them to your desired doneness.

Answer 5

If you are using fresh or frozen ones, they can be somewhat bitter when not cooked long enough, but I've never tasted any that were overly bitter. Cooking them for a long time does make them lose some of the nutrients, but green beans taste wonderful when cooked slowly for a couple of hours with a ham hock, several tablespoons of bacon drippings, cubed ham (as much or as little as you want) and Cajun seasoning to taste. That's for a big pot of them though, and you start with a lot of water and let it cook most of the way down. For a quick weeknight thing, I just use a couple of cans of beans and only one tablespoon of bacon drippings and a little Cajun seasoning (or whatever seasoning you like best).

A healthier version I have used is to steam them until fork tender, then toss them in a little olive oil with sunflower seeds and seasoning to taste, or a little Italian or Caesar dressing instead of olive oil.

Answer 6

If the green beans are fresh and little, I usually sautee them with garlic and some olive oil, salt/pepper to taste.

If the green beans are freash and large in size, I've found that roasting them brings out their best flavor. You can roast them alone or with other veggies/garlic/spices @ about 400 degrees. Takes me usually 15-20 minutes for them to be the texture I like. Zap in the microwave to reheat if they get cold before you get to eating them after the oven. Always toss with olive oil/some kind of oil, salt, and pepper.

If they are store-bought canned, I typically only use them for casseroles.

Answer 7

Do recent comments relatively say that approximately eating greens once you're pregnant? I ate mountains of Brussel Sprouts whilst i became awaiting and my son who's now 19 loves greens. I prepare dinner a stew with a good number of veges that grow to be very just about unrecognisable in the full combination on the top, and he devours it. in the journey that your son is eating a minimum of two products of fruit and 3 different veges in the path of the day, he's a few distance forward of a good number of alternative 10 365 days olds who survive McDonalds.

Answer 8

Add 1/2 tsp sugar to the cooking water. Or one tsp vinegar. Or both.
Sugar is especially good if you're using canned vegetables, it cuts the canny taste; and a little added sugar lets you use less salt. Use it for all bitter vegetables like turnips and greens.

Answer 9

use a little non salted sweet butter. u could try putting maple flavored bacon in, be sure the bacon is pre cooked in a microwave or in a skillet if ur using canned green beans. if u use fresh then put the bacon in at same time and it will all cook together.

Answer 10

For canned? Frozen? Fresh? For fresh and frozen. Put enough water in the pot that you know will cover the beans. I put garlic powder, salt, and the green beans in the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer til tender. As for canned (ugh), you can use the same technique except you dont need to add extra water.