Green Beans with Almonds (French Haricots Verts Amandine)

Dress up your green beans with toasted almonds and a splash of lemon. Haricots Verts Amadine is the perfect, easy yet elegant side dish for your holiday dinner. Whether you're familiar with the spelling Almondine or Amandine, you've probably come across this bright and nutty preparation. Amandine, is the French term for a dish that is served garnished with almonds (derived from amande, the French word for almond). The nutty and slightly citrusy flavours are a wonderful complement to white fish, but equally as common is their use to dress up a side of green beans. The almonds add a fun crunch to barely cooked and still crisp green beans, and the nuttiness of the almonds and brightness of the lemon juice transform simple beans into something incredibly gourmet and festive. We like our amadine with lots of almonds. Haricots verts is French for green beans. Typically, you will find that French green beans are longer and thinner than North American varieties. They are also younger and have a light and complex flavour. You really could use any version of green beans for this recipe, but we chose to use fresh green beans, for their shape and flavour.

1 lb green beans, trimmed if necessary
½ tsp. sea salt
¾ cup sliced almonds
½ Tbsp. butter
½ lemon, freshly juiced (roughly 2 Tbsp.)

Place the green beans in a medium pot and cover with water. Add the kosher or sea salt and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook the green beans until bright, but still crisp, 1-2 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking further. Place the cooled and drained beans in a bowl.

In a medium sauté pan, toast the almonds over medium-high heat, 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until fragrant and golden. Remove 2 Tbsp. of almonds from the pan and set aside.

Add the butter and lemon juice to the remaining almonds in the pan. Heat until the butter has melted and then add the drained green beans. Sauté the beans for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until well coated with the lemon butter and heated through.

For serving, garnish the beans with the toasted almonds you removed from the pan.

Makes 5-6 servings.