The Technique

The first trick to pan charring green beans is to cut them up into 1½ to 2-inch pieces. This facilitates more direct bean to skillet contact. If you leave the beans whole, they sit on top of each other, like pick up sticks, with only a small fraction of their edges in contact with the skillet. The second trick is a generous amount of cooking oil. I use two tablespoons per pound of beans. And, let the oil heat up until it is shimmering before adding the green beans to the skillet. The third trick is to hold back on the stirring. Let the beans sit still for about 3 minutes between stirring. When you do stir, stir well. Stir from the bottom and try to flip the green beans, so new surfaces get that direct skillet contact for more charring. The final trick is to finish the cooking process with a little steam. When the beans have apparent charred spots after three or four stirrings, add two tablespoons of water to the skillet, lower the heat and cover the skillet. After a few minutes, the beans should be tender-crisp and ready for some final seasoning.

Flavor Options

While totally optional, I like to pair the green beans with either red sweet peppers or cherry tomatoes. Both take well to the char technique, and both provide a nice flavor pairing to the green beans. For seasoning, simple salt and pepper, letting the vegetables express themselves, is always an option. Pestos are great choices, including classic basil pesto as well as carrot top pesto, roasted red pepper pesto, or garlic scape pesto. If you don’t have pestos on hand, mince up a couple tablespoons of drained capers or mince up half a dozen Kalamata olives. Both provide a salty, savory kick to the dish. Or, you can go Asian by mincing up some ginger, garlic and scallions and a tablespoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil to the dish.  So many options…all delicious!