YOUR NEW GO-TO SEASONING & GREEN BEANS WITH A FRENCH ACCENT
Oui Oui mon petit chou...
Happy Thursdeee, frens! This week is all about simple dinner dishes that pack a punch, but are E-A-S-Y. Elizabeth is revealing her kitchen secret weapon that she puts on everything from chicken and vegetables, to steak and potatoes… and Anthony’s got a green bean salad that he’ll drive to the East side of LA for in the middle of rush hour—yes, it’s that good! You can make it at home and avoid the bumper-to-bumper traffic.
GREEN BEANS WITH A *SPICY* FRENCH ACCENT
AU: This time of year, I want to eat alllll the vegetables. I would quite literally like to consume a farmer’s market worth of veggies at every meal… Howeverrrrr, I am going to say something controversial (and maybe this is my extreme laziness talking): I cannot STAND washing, prepping, and cleaning up my market haul. It seems to take FOREVER…
The washing and drying of lettuces, the scrubbing of the carrots, and even the delicate rinse of tomatoes (to then lay out to dry) are all chores that I loathe as much as I loathe washing dishes.
But snapping beans and stringing snap peas somehow do not fall into this loathsome category. I find that act extremely meditative and almost therapeutic.
EK: That is so sweet, that’s the Southern boy in you! I can still see my grandmother sitting at the table snapping and stringing!
AU: Maybe so! Other veggies, not included. You want me to do WHAT with that beautiful artichoke?!? Bitch, please. I will order it at a restaurant. Respectfully!!
AU: Back to snapping beans… when the farmers start setting out crates and crates of green beans, wax beans, and romano beans I start thinking about one of my favorite vegetable dishes I’ve tasted in recent history: Matt Molina’s Charred Green Beans with Hazelnuts and Serrano Chile.
At his restaurant Hippo, Matt Molina packs so many layers of textures and flavors into the dish, you can’t believe it’s actually so simple. It’s no surprise he has a deft hand with a few humble ingredients, he is a protégé of Nancy Silverton and worked at Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza, and Campanile. The green beans get seared hard in a skillet, giving them a deep smoky taste, but then you get spicy heat from paper-thin sliced serrano chiles. The whole dish is further enhanced by the onion-y freshness of scallions (there’s a neat kitchen trick to ‘em!), and the crunch of toasted hazelnuts.
AU: But the thing that ties it all together is The Frenchie Dressing—a super mustardy vinaigrette not unlike the one Elizabeth wrote about last week. Using both whole grain and Dijon mustard make this a super piquant way to not only dress this bean salad, but also to jazz up any boring supermarket lettuces you may have lying around.
EK: I love mixing the two mustards together, and though it’s not authentic, I think, a lot if not most, cooks who are ‘mustard heads’ do this on the regular!
AU: Molina uses a mix of string beans and wax beans he gets from local farmers, but if you don’t have access to that kind of produce, just buy a bag of fresh haricots vert (aka the thin French green beans) from the supermarket. Sometimes they’re even pre-trimmed!
AU: He tosses the beans (divided by varietal if you’re using different types of beans) with a little olive oil and salt, then sears ‘em in batches in cast iron skillets or a griddle, if you’ve got one.
While that’s working, you can crush your toasted hazelnuts, and slice up your serrano chiles. I like to use a mandoline, so they’re suuuuuper thin, but live your life and enjoy your own serrano chile journey.
AU: To crisp up raw scallions and soften their bite, Molina puts them in a small salad spinner and covers with ice-cold water. After letting them crisp for a few minutes, he lifts them out, shakes off excess water and spins them dry. If you don’t have a salad spinner, just pat ‘em dry after their ice bath. This makes the scallions—that have been sliced lengthwise—turn into curly cues and gives them a crisp texture.
Toss everything with The Frenchie Dressing, starting with a few tablespoons… then add more to taste. You can serve it warm, at room temp, or even chilled (which is a fab make-ahead way to serve at cookouts, picnics, and barbecues!).
These are the perfect accompaniment to any grilled protein, especially using EK’s all-purpose seasoning below!
ELIZABETH’S ALL-PURPOSE RUB IS INSPIRED BY PROVENCE
EK: If I could pick one place in the world to have a second home, it would be Provence. I love everything about the place including the food and I am obsessed with the lavender that so famously grows there.
AU: Uhhhhhh can we get on that? We can shop the markets and cook all day while sipping Bandol Rosé on ice! Let’s go buy some lotto tickets!
EK: I’m in! If the idea of a lavender-scented spice rub is a big turn-off, you haven’t tasted culinary lavender. Used in small amounts, it is that “je ne sais quoi” of a dish, and I use a smidge of it daily.
Culinary Lavender is in the all-purpose seasoning that sits by my stove and gets used on everything from my morning scramble, to seasoning any protein, and spicing up my bag of Skinny Pop (popcorn).
EK: It is my go-to because it is salty and herby and has just enough dried lavender to make it distinctive. And, it happens to enhance everything from veggies and salads, to meat, chicken, pork, fish, cheese and eggs, of course! If you want a real treat, make a paste with this rub and Dijon mustard and slather it all over lamb chops just before grilling.
AU: OMG that sounds SO GOOD! TRYING IT ASAP!!
EK: If I want to maximize the savoriness, I add dehydrated garlic. That is the secret to my “world-famous” Tumbled Tomatoes!
EK: The recipe is simple. It’s chunky coarse salt (the one that I have been using is a Coarse Brazilian Sea Salt, but any salt will work as long as it is coarse). The other two ingredients are Herbes de Provence which is typically a mixture of dried herbs that can vary, based on the manufacturer. The one I use has rosemary, thyme, basil, marjoram, savory and a small amount of lavender.
The herb mixes never have enough lavender (or the most fragrant lavender), so I add a tablespoon of culinary lavender to boost it. Make sure you buy culinary lavender, because there are two types of lavender… the other one tastes like camphor and is better to treat insect bites and ward off moths!
ELIZABETH’S ALL-PURPOSE SEASONING SALT
1/2 cup chunky coarse salt
1/4 cup dried herbs
1 tablespoon culinary lavender.
Mix everything together and fill a salt grinder.
*This recipe yields 10 tablespoons or a little more than 1/2 cup, and will fill about 3 salt grinders, depending on size.
EK: The herb and salt mixture is good but the key is putting it in a salt grinder so that everything is ground fine and it releases its oils and aroma as you grind it together.