At the store, pick beans that are firm and green with minimal brown spots. To cook, first heat a pot of water on the stove, big enough to handle the amount of beans you are cooking. Salt the water so that it’s like seawater. While the water is heating, Snap open the root tip and pull down the bean’s thread to facilitate opening the pod. Remove the beans inside and discard the pods. Dump the beans into the boiling water and cook them for 1 minute. In the meantime, get an icebath ready. After a minute, strain the beans and plunge them into the icebath. Remove them, and one by one, squeeze the beans out of their little pods (there’s no real great technique to do this–I like to squeeze them in my hands because it’s the only way I’ve been able to prevent them from flying all over the place).
My love eating them straight up mixed with a generous amount of minced garlic, 1:1 ratio of olive oil to lemon juice (roughly 1-2 teaspoons per serving), and a hit of salt and pepper. Simple, fresh, and effective.
