French Beans And Pearl Onions
- 1/2 lbs French Beans (thin beans, don't mistake for runner beans)
- 12-15 pearl onions (4-5 per person)
- 3 pieces of garlic
- 1/4 capful of olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- Fill a bowl with ice and a tiny bit of water, to be the "ice bath" for your onions once they're cooked. Get out a strainer or colander, a cutting board, another bowl, 2 deep pots and 1 frying pan. Fill one of the pots with water and set it to boil. While it's getting to boiling, prepare your beans by snipping off both ends. Be sure not to cut off too much, it makes the beans cook too fast. Remember that the onions have no prep, DO NOT TRY TO PEEL THEM AT ALL.
- Making the Beans:
- Heat water to boiling, then take the pot OFF of the burner, put it on a non-heated surface, and add the beans. Cover, let sit for 5 minutes for perfect al dente beans, 6-7 minutes for softer beans. When they come out, strain them and put them in the extra bowl.
- Making the Onions:
- Boil water in the other pot. When it comes to a roiling boil, put in the onions, with the skins on, for about 2.5 minutes. Then, drain them in the strainer, and immediately drop them into your "ice bath" to stop the cooking process. Finally, take each from the ice-bath, and cut off the root-side ends (the end with the curly narrow bit), and squeeze each onion from the other end so that it slides out the hole you made.
- Putting it all together:
- Chop up two of the pieces of garlic. Add the two chopped garlics and one whole garlic to the frying pan with the butter. Set on a burner, add in the beans and onions, and let the mix warm for 10-15 minutes (or to taste), mixing well. When you empty it into the serving bowl, make sure to take the single whole garlic out. Add a tiny bit of olive oil and serve warm.
beans, pearl, garlic, capful of olive oil, butter
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/french-beans-and-pearl-onions-50114362 (may not work)