Balsamic Green Beans

I like vegetables and pretty much always have, though as I have gotten older I appreciate them a bit more than I did as a kid. However, it was in my childhood that my parents first provided me with a profound wisdom on dealing with vegetables. Basically they demonstrated that there are three things that can help make vegetables more palatable (even for the pickiest of eaters): butter, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. While the first two may seem like common sense it is amazing how often we turn away from them in the name of health or not wanting to deal with the potency of garlic.
Once after buying green beans from the market I thought about how it might turn out to use all three at once. I was rather pleased with the result. So finally I am on to my first post that actually deals with the cooking aspect of this fine art of procrastination through cooking, and it might be the easiest I ever post.

Preparation is extremely easy and it only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish, depending on how fast of a garlic chopper you are.
What you need:
A handful of green beans (per person) with the ends trimmed.
A clove of garlic (per handful of beans) finally chopped.
Butter, about ½ - 1 a tablespoon per handful of beans.
Olive oil – just so you don’t have to use quite as much butter. If you want to ratchet up the flavor, just add more butter instead of the olive oil.
Balsamic vinegar- you only need a small amount. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan (1 to 2 tablespoons)
Salt and Pepper to taste.


Put a small sauce pan on the stove over medium heat.
Put the butter in pan and once melted add the garlic.
Stir the garlic around in the butter for around 30 seconds (be sure that you don’t burn the garlic as it give is a bit of a bitter taste).
Add the olive oil and green beans.
Stir the green beans around until they are coated with butter and the garlic is mixed throughout (always keep an eye on the garlic, if it is all at the bottom of the pan it is going to burn on you. You probably only need to sauté this mixture for around another minute
Add salt and pepper
Add the balsamic vinegar.
Stirring occasionally let the balsamic simmer down and thicken. At the same time the green beans will finish cooking.

Once the balsamic vinegar has reduced to about half the original amount, pour out the green beans onto a plate and let the thickened liquid drizzle over the top.

I really like the sweet and slightly syrupy flavor of the balsamic vinegar in contrast to the bite of the garlic and the fresh pop of green beans that have not been overcooked. This is an easy side to cook up when waiting for other things to finish cooking and is ideal to prepare when waiting to let beef rest after being removed from the heat. What better way to resisted the temptation of slicing into your meat too soon, than by cooking a wonderful side that has a strong enough flavor to complement a good cut of steak.