Roasted Green Beans

Fall is here. I'm consistently cold, we've closed the windows, and the days are getting shorter. I'm getting desperate. Saturday I dragged David to the local Farmer's market where we picked up some apples, pears, green beans, and a fennel bulb. Last night I put those green beans to good use. I love green beans, always have. Even though I'm picky against some veggies (still don't like peppers and mushrooms) as a kid I loved a bunch of vegetables that most kids hate. I clearly remember making bargains with my brothers when my parents' backs were turned to eat their asparagus and green beans in exchange for them doing my chores. And granted, these fresh, local green beans are a far cry from the canned version. Recipe!

1/2 lb. (or so!) of green beans
2 onions, quartered
4-6 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp. EVOO
Salt and Pepper

You have trim your green beans, first. This is easy to do. Just pinch, cut, or slice the ends off the ends of the green beans. Wash them really really well. Pile your beans, onions, and garlic on a greased sheet pan, and then toss with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Put it in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, pulling it out and stirring half way through.  The veggies will brown up beautifully. Roasting is about the best thing you can do to veggies in my opinion.

The nice thing about this recipe is that is so easily adapted. Have a lot more green beans? No problem. Just add a little more garlic, onions, and evoo. Prefer Red Onions? That's fine too. Huge fan of cheese? Grate some Parmesan over the hot beans. We took ours, put it on a bed of rice, and drizzled some soy sauce over it for a Chinese-inspired dish. To kick that up a little, add some red pepper flakes to the veggies before you roast them, and maybe add some leftover grilled chicken. Delicious! I hope you take advantage of the end of season too.