A very hearty dish that can be served as a side or an entree. If you don't mind a little meat, add some bacon or smoked ham toward the end for another layer of flavor.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information.
The green beans and potatoes are cooked together in the same pot of water.
Add the beans and potatoes. Reduce heat to a slow boil.
Cook until beans are crisp tender about 6 - 8 minutes. The potatoes should be done as well*.
Remove beans and potatoes from water using a slotted spoon. You can toss the water or save it for another use.*
When butter is melted, add nuts and garlic. Sauté until nuts and garlic are toasted light brown. Keep the heat low enough so that the butter won't burn.
Green Beans - Fresh green beans are the only way to go with this dish. If desperate, I guess you could used canned, but if all you have it frozen, then don't make this dish. The texture of frozen greens beans is just too disturbing and would actually ruin this dish.
Potatoes - Red potatoes are best because of their texture and low starch content. They hold up quite well to the double cooking and don't fall apart or become gummy. Even though I love yellow and Yukon golds, they do tend to fall apart during the reheating process, so save them for mashed potatoes.
Pine nuts (Pinon) - If you don't have pinon nuts, use pecans. I've used pecans many times and they complement the other flavors in this dish quite well. In fact, it's a toss up as to which I like better - pinon or pecans?
Cheese - There are lots of choices here. We prefer Pecorino Romano or Manchego, but any other similar hard cheese works well. Softer cheeses such as cheddar or Monterey Jack have too low of a melting point so they don't work so well.
Toppings - As I mentioned before, you can topped this dish with cooked, crumbled bacon, smoked ham, or seared little cubes of beef. Other proteins such as chicken, pork or tofu work as well; however, use small pieces and if you can make them crispy that would be best. The crispiness adds a nice texture to this dish. If you want, add them to the pot when you add the nuts and garlic.
Vegan Modification - Omit the butter and double the amount of olive oil. Eliminate the cheese or use a non-dairy cheese if you have one you like. Personally, I've never found a non-dairy cheese that I liked, but then I love cheese.
Deconstructed Pesto - I do love a good pesto, but to be honest, I love a deconstructed pesto better. It's easier to make, not near as messy, and you get the texture of the nuts. Plus, you don't need to use near the amount of oil. However, you could easily just scooped about 1/4 cup pesto in this dish instead.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen