Green beans can be transformed into a variety of delicious dishes. Before cooking, prepare the vegetables by trimming the ends, removing the stringy fibers along the seams of the pods, washing them in cold water, and cutting them into 3–5 cm pieces. Then gradually immerse them in salted boiling water to avoid stopping the boil. Cook them in plenty of water to maintain their vibrant green color.
Green Beans in a Skillet: Boil the beans until tender in salted boiling water, then transfer them to a skillet with oil. Add sautéed green onions and thyme or parsley; season with salt and pepper, pour in the beaten eggs, and finish cooking in the oven. Serve in the same skillet. For 200 g of green beans, use 20 g of green onions, 30 g of clarified butter, 2 eggs, and 5 g of parsley or thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste. The beans should be tender-crisp.
Prepare the beans as described above, then cut them diagonally into 5 cm lengths. Place them in a pot with hot oil and sauté them for a minute while stirring. Add water and salt, and cover the pot with a lid. Simmer for about three minutes until the pods turn bright green, then remove the lid and continue to simmer for another 5–6 minutes, stirring gently. Once the water evaporates, the beans will become tender-crisp. For 400 g of beans, use 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1/3 cup of water, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Beans with Oil: Boil 750 g of green beans in salted water. Add half a bunch of finely chopped dill and add 4 tablespoons of oil. Serve with kefir.
You can eat young beans (at the milk stage) raw, in salads, or in soups. Green beans are often added to borscht and other vegetable soups. Adding a small amount of mature beans to soup significantly enhances the soup’s flavor and nutritional value. To ensure the beans cook evenly, blanch them in boiling water or soak them for several hours to make the outer shell easier to remove.
Pâté from Mature Seeds: Remove the seeds from their shells, boil them in soft, unsalted water, and pass them through a sieve. Finely chop the lard and place it in a pot and heat it until the fat melts. Add finely chopped onions, the pureed boiled beans, and soft bread soaked in cream. Pour in 3 tablespoons of broth with thyme or a bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. When the mixture cools, add the eggs and beat the mixture until pale, then refrigerate until ready to use. For 400 g of seeds, use 100 g of lard, 3–4 eggs, 1/4 cup of cream, one onion, the crumb of one roll, bay leaf or thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.
Drying and Pickling Vegetable Beans: The pods and seeds can be stored for a long time when dried or pickled. For drying, sort the beans on the day of harvest. Discard any wilted or spoiled pods, trim the ends, remove the fibers along the seam, cut into 2–3 cm pieces, wash in cold water, and blanch in boiling water for 3–4 minutes. After blanching, cool the beans, spread them on trays or sieves, and dry at a temperature of 56–70°C for 5–6 hours.
For pickling, prepare the beans the same way as for drying. Boil them in salted boiling water for 2–3 minutes and immediately transfer them to cold water to cool. When pickling whole beans, arrange them in jars in neat vertical rows, while pieces can be packed loosely in the jar. Prepare a mildly acidic brine (1.65–1.7% vinegar essence, 5.5% sugar, and 5.5% salt) or a more acidic brine (2.5–2.7% vinegar essence, 5.5% sugar, and 5.5% salt). Use spices such as bay leaf, allspice, black or red pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and add dill or other aromatic herbs. Pour the prepared brine over the beans, seal the jars tightly, and sterilize them in boiling water.
