S’lata Lubia – Simple Green Beans

Green beans are a regular and a very welcomed product in Tunisian cuisine and in my Savta’s (grandma) kitchen in particular. Green beans make their appearance in many Tunisian dishes.

One of my first kitchen jobs when I was a child was to cut the edges off green beans. I LOVED it! I was sitting next to a HUGE pile of green beans and two bowls, one for the cut off edges (the waste) and the other for the prepared green beans. My Savta showed me exactly how to use the knife and how much to cut from the edges. She had such calming patience that was unique only to her. I remember I started so young with a plastic knife and slowly as I grew older, I graduated 🙂 to a regular knife.

Today, whenever I prepare green beans, I love including my children as part of this process. Nothing can erase my smile when I see their little hands using the plastic knives to cut off the green beans’ edges. 🙂

This dish has such a great, clear and simple taste, it is super healthy and so easy to make …I don’t think you need more convincing to make this dish part of your dinner tonight…

A little note:

I modified the traditional recipe by adding a touch of butter and lemon zest. These two additions elevate the flavor to new levels.

You will need:

1½ lb. Green Beans

3 Garlic cloves

1½ tsp. Butter

1 tsp. Olive oil

2 tsp. Lemon juice (about half a lemon)

Lemon Zest (about 1 tsp.)

Salt

Black Pepper

So let’s do this!

Prepare the green beans by cutting off their edges. This is actually a fun activity and little helpers or any helpers are welcome to join in.

Wash your green beans well…

Parboil the green beans:

Drop the beans in boiling water for 3-5 minutes until beans will change their color to bright green. Transfer the beans immediately to a bowl of icy water to keep good texture and the bright green color. After a minute drain well.

Combine olive oil and touch of butter in a flat heavy pan on high heat. Add the drained green beans to the hot pan. Cook on high heat for 6 minutes tossing the beans every few minutes.

Slice the garlic.

Add sliced garlic to the green beans and toss quickly not to burn the garlic.

Add lemon juice, salt and pepper toss one last time and turn off the heat.

Sprinkle lemon zest on top, this will raise the flavor up one more level.

Serve right away while warm.

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Quick Recipe:

S’lata Lubia-

Cut edges off Green Beans and wash well.

Parboil Green Beans and transfer to icy water.

Drain well.

Cook and toss on high heat with Olive Oil and a touch of Butter for about 6 minutes.

Add sliced Garlic and toss quickly.

Add Lemon, Salt and Black Pepper still on high heat and toss one last time.

Turn heat off.

Sprinkle Lemon Zest on warm Green Beans.

Serve Warm.