Feisty Green Beans

Use a white wine that you’d want to drink after opening. And for those of you looking to speed things up, you don’t need to slice the green beans, but the extra work is worth the effort.

Ingredients ~

• 1 pound green beans, cut into half-inch segments
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/3 cup white wine
• ½ teaspoon hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• scant ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/3 cup / one handful of finely chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Method ~

Cook the green beans in a pot of well-salted boiling water for about a minute, just long enough that they lose their raw edge. Drain and immediately immerse in ice-cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside.

In a small bowl, cover the raisins with scalding hot water for five minutes, drain, and set aside.

Heat your largest skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, garlic, onion, and bay leaves. Cook for 5 minutes or until the onions and garlic start to brown just a bit.

Add the wine and cook until it has mostly evaporated. Carefully remove the bay leaves.

Stir in the paprika, cumin, coriander, curry powder, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Stir in the tofu and raisins and cook until heated through, a minute or so.

Add the butter and green beans and stir until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the crème fraîche, then most of the almonds and most of the cilantro.

Taste and add more salt and some pepper if you like. Serve topped with any remaining almonds and cilantro.

Serves 4 to 6.

Inspired by a recipe in Anna Getty’s Anna Getty’s Easy Green