Italian Green Beans

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Crispy string beans, bacon, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes nestled in an Italian sauce of tomato paste, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Served with pinenuts and Pecorino Romano garnishes.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 176kcal

Author: Anecia Hero

Ingredients

1½ -2 pounds fresh green beans
8 cups water
4 tablespoons table salt - do not substitute See Recipe Notes
big bowl of ice water to put the cooked green beans in
2 slices bacon cut into small pieces (or about 1½ ounces of pancetta)
8 ounces whole mushrooms , sliced
7 ounces small Cippoline onions, boiler onions or pearl onions See Recipe Notes
2 tablespoons fresh finely minced garlic (about 3 medium cloves)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 ounces drained sun dried tomatoes cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup water
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark balsamic vineger
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ - ½ cup pinenuts
¼ -½ cup grated Pecorino-Romano cheese

Instructions

Prep:
1. Bring the water to a boil; add salt; stir; add green beans, set timer for 7 minutes.
2. Gather a large bowl and put water and ice in it. Set it next to the stove. Once the beans are at 7 minutes, use a spider or slotted spoon and immediately transfer them to the bowl of ice water. Just leave them in the ice water until you're ready to put them in with the rest of the ingredients.
3. While the beans are cooking, slice the mushrooms, peel the onions, cut the bacon, mince the garlic and drain the sun dried tomatoes. If the sun dried tomatoes are whole, cut them into small pieces and set aside.
1½ -2 pounds fresh green beans, 8 cups water, 4 tablespoons table salt - do not substitute, 2 slices bacon cut into small pieces, 8 ounces whole mushrooms, 7 ounces small Cippoline onions, boiler onions or pearl onions, 2 tablespoons fresh finely minced garlic (about 3 medium cloves), 8 ounces drained sun dried tomatoes cut into small pieces, big bowl of ice water to put the cooked green beans in
In a large skillet on medium heat, add bacon and cook till crispy. Add onions the cook for a few minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes, until the moisture has cooked out of them and they are a light golden brown. Add minced garlic and drained sun dried tomatoes; season with black pepper and turn heat to medium low. Remove the onions if they start to get too dark;
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Add tomato paste and water to the skillet and stir until well combined. Add in brown sugar and balsamic vineger; combine well; season with oregano and garlic powder.
2 tablespoons tomato paste, ½ cup water, 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons dark balsamic vineger, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Add cooked beans to the skillet and toss with tongs until well-coated and warmed throughout. Transfer to serving dish; add in 1/4 each of pine nut and grated Pecorino cheese; add in the onions (if you took them out of the skillet earlier); toss well. Garnish with remaining pine nuts and cheese. Serve warm or room temperature.
¼ - ½ cup pinenuts, ¼ -½ cup grated Pecorino-Romano cheese

Notes

About the salt:

Yes, the type of salt DOES matter in this recipe. You want to boil the green beans in plain old table salt, also known as iodized salt. If you use a different salt like Kosher salt, you'll have to use much more salt for this recipe and I cannot guarantee the results will be the same.

Cooking the green beans:

Bring the water to a boil, then add the salt. Give it a stir then add the green beans and set a timer for 7 minutes. Once 7 minutes is up, transfer the green beans to a big bowl of ice water. Do NOT cook the green beans longer than 9 minutes, tops.

About the onions:

The recipe calls for Cippoline onions. These are usually found in the produce section. These are small flat Italian yellow sweet onions. You can use these if you want or, you can use pearl onions. Pearl onions are small white onions. Try to find canned pearl white onions or frozen - the jarred pearl onions are typically marinated in vinegar and used for martini's or charcuterie boards. If you can't find small onions at all, use about 1/2 cup diced yellow or white onion.

Nutrition