If you’re looking for ways to make your holiday season a little healthier, removing butter and cream from most of your dishes is the first place to start. If you’re cooking, or if you have any input whatsoever on the menu plan, decide which dishes you can slim down without ruining the holidays for your entire family and which ones you’ll keep as is. For example: in my house, we’ll always have sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows, but we’ll sometimes borrow inspiration from the Cooking Light school of Thanksgiving for our stuffing or green beans.
Whether you’re looking for a casual picnic salad or a lighter alternative to the rich Thanksgiving casserole, the answer lies within green beans laced with crunchy almonds and plenty of garlic.
- 1-1/2 lb. haricots verts (thin French green beans) or green beans, trimmed
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons pure olive oil
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- 1 teaspoon minced or pressed garlic (1 medium clove)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 small lemon)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add green beans. Cook until the beans are bright green and barely tender, about two minutes.
- Drain beans in a colander and rinse under cold water until beans have cooled. Pat beans dry with a clean kitchen towel.
- In a 12-inch skillet, heat butter and oil over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Add almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until almonds are golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the almonds to a plate.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring consistently for about 30 seconds or until garlic becomes fragrant. Add the beans, increase the heat to medium, and cook until beans are lightly browned in some places, 5 to 8 minutes, tossing occasionally. Remove from heat.
- Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with the almonds, and serve.
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