French Cut Green Beans | Julie Blanner (2024)

FAQs

Do French green beans need to be trimmed? ›

Do you need to trim green beans? No matter what color or variety of green or wax bean you end up with, you will need to give them a little trim before eating them. Do this just before you will be using them, as the trimmed ends will quickly dry out and shrivel up.

The main different is the texture. Because French cut green beans are sliced so thinly they cook up silky and tender. The slicing also turns the veggie from a tube to a strip, which helps the beans absorb the flavors they're cooked with (more on that below).

I added some sliced onion sautéed along with the green beans, added some garlic paste from the tube (Gourmet Garden®), some freshly-ground black pepper, and a healthy sprinkle of lemon pepper. Wow, so simple and yet soooo delicious.

French style green beans are supposed to be a thinner more tender bean but the canned variety doesn't taste any different than the regular. They're just sort of slashed up into strings almost.

If you can't find haricots verts, you can use regular fresh green beans, just boil them a little longer.

As with other broad beans, you can pinch out the growing tip once lower pods have formed to deter black flies. (Some of us wait until we see the blackfly first, but if you want to be preemptive, do it sooner.) These beans are especially subject to predation by slugs and other garden pests.

Yes. There are a couple things you can do with mature beans. Shell the beans and cook the seeds. Boil for 20 minutes and serve as a side or use in soup or chili.

While lard has been replaced with vegetable oil or shortening in many households, the distinct richness and velvety texture it imparts to a skillet of refried beans is hard to beat. The closest substitute for lard is bacon grease, which is another form of rendered pork fat that's arguably even more flavorful.

Blanch Them

Blanching your greens is key to getting that bitterness level down. Because glucosinolates are water-soluble compounds, a lot of them are leached out into the water, allowing for a less bitter green.

French green beans (also called Haricots Verts) are slightly longer and skinnier than regular green beans and may be a little bit more expensive. They are harvested earlier then regular green beans, so they are thought to be more tender and more flavorful.

How to jazz up green beans? ›

Then, I toss the blanched beans with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and salt to pep up their flavor. Serve them just like that, or dress them up more with toasted almonds or pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, or fresh herbs like basil, parsley, or thyme.

Dried beans cooked with sea salt and water are delicious, but adding an onion, garlic, or other aromatics to the pot will make them even more flavorful!

Pole beans will need a trellis, stakes, or some kind of support structure to keep them upright. If you're planting long rows of French filet beans, you can insert two 6-foot tall stakes into the soil—one on either side of the row—and stretch netting across it for your beans to climb.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water nearby. Drop the green beans into the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove the beans and immediately immerse in the ice water long enough to cool completely, about 15 seconds. Drain and place on paper towels to dry.