Orange Kissed Green Beans with Hazelnuts

Whew, yesterday was a busy day! Cut the grass, well…     I call it farm grass. I’m not sure how much of it is grass! Lots of violets, dandelions, purple creeping Charlie and some white flowers, very colorful and pretty. Now when the dandelions go to seed, not so pretty! But the birds love the seeds, the bees love the flowers and it gives the rabbits something to munch on other than my landscaping.  I also weeded some of the flower beds and trimmed the dead off the lavender.

A quick dinner was needed! I threw some steaks on the grill with lots of cracked black pepper, baked sweet potatoes which I started in the microwave and finished on the grill. I also created a side dish of green beans with orange dressing, shallots and hazelnuts. The green beans were light, fresh and delicious. I think this green bean dish would go perfect with fish or any seafood. They are both light and would complement each other very well.

Orange Kissed Green Beans with Hazelnuts

1 pound fresh or “fresh from the freezer” green beans

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

¼ teaspoon salt

Fresh ground black pepper

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 Tablespoon thinly sliced shallot

3 Tablespoon fresh or “fresh from the freezer” parsley

2 Tablespoons toasted chopped hazelnuts

Pour an inch of water in a stock pot, use a collapsible steamer, or steam pot or nothing at all; place beans, cleaned and trimmed, in the pot or steamer. Cover and bring water to boil over medium-high heat; cook for 5-10 minutes until you’re desired tenderness. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a serving bowl whisk the orange zest, olive oil, orange juice, salt and pepper until combined. Strip the leaves off the thyme and add to the dressing. Separate the shallot slices into rings, add to the bowl. Add cooked green beans, parsley and hazelnuts; toss until thoroughly combined.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Posted in Cooking, Green Beans | 2 Comments »

• 
  Digg
• 
  Facebook
• 
  Delicious
• 
  StumbleUpon
• 
  Twitter
• 
  LinkedIn
• 
  Technorati
• 
  reddit
• 
  Mixx
• 
  Newsvine