Green Beans with Bacon & Pine Nuts
Tender-crisp Green Beans with Bacon and Pine Nuts is a great combination of textures and flavors - rich and buttery and crispy and crunchy. It's the perfect side dish for your holiday feast!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds fresh green beans washed & ends trimmed
- 1/2 pound bacon roughly chopped
- 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare a large bowl of ice water for an ice bath. Set aside.
- Fill a large pot with salted water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the washed and trimmed green beans to the salted water and cook until bright green in color and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and then shock them by dumping them in the bowl of ice water to stop the beans from cooking any more. Drain the beans again and pat dry.2 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
- Cook the bacon in a large, heavy pan over medium-high heat until crisp. I prefer chopping my bacon first and then stirring it around in the pan to cook it for this dish, rather than frying the bacon in strips and chopping it up afterwards. Remove the cooked bacon pieces to a plate lined with paper towels using a slotted spoon, then pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the excess bacon grease.1/2 pound bacon
- Add the onion to the pan with the reserved bacon grease and sauté until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté just until fragrant, about 1 more minute.1 small yellow onion, 3 garlic cloves
- Add the green beans and the pine nuts to the onion and garlic and toss to combine. Cook until heated through and pine nuts are toasty, about 5 to 6 minutes more, tossing frequently so the pine nuts don't burn. Return the bacon to the pan, add the lemon juice and toss everything to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.1/2 cup pine nuts, Juice of 1/2 a lemon, Salt & freshly ground pepper
Notes
- Substitutions: If you don't have pine nuts, or have a pine nut allergy, slivered or chopped almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts would also work. As would pumpkin seeds for something crunchy.
- Regular or thick-cut bacon will work - it's completely up to personal preference and what you have on hand.
- I have made this with regular green beans and french green beans (also known as haricot verts) and both work well. Frozen green beans can also be used in place of fresh green beans. I don't recommend using canned green beans, however.
Nutrition
Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 991IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg
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