How to sautee green beans?!

Ingredients
Kosher salt
1/2 pound green beans, stem ends removed
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Directions
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.


Set up a bowl of well-salted ice water for shocking.


Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until they are tender but still toothsome, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove them from the boiling water and put them immediately into the salted ice water.


Once the beans are cool, remove them from the water and set aside until ready to use.


Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and bring to a medium-high heat. When the garlic has become golden and very aromatic, remove it and discard. It has fulfilled its garlic destiny. Add the beans to the pan and saute until they are hot and coated with oil. Transfer the beans to a serving bowl, season with salt, to taste and serve right away.

Green beans are great and an excellent source of nutrients. I cook green beans like this all the time, it tastes great and is low in fat.

1. Don't use butter, instead use olive oil (any grade is fine). Start by heating up two teaspoons of olive oil on medium heat.

2. Toss in finely chopped garlic (1 clove) and onions (half cup). Cook for 30 seconds.

3. Rinse and dry off your green beans, then toss them into the pan. Stir them around until they are covered with oil. Toss in half a teaspoon of salt and pepper.

4. Stir for about 2 minutes and then you're done.

Always try to avoid butter if you're looking for a healthier option. Olive oil is fine and tastes great. You can also use coconut oil, they are available in jars at mid-high end grocery stores. Also, to add flavor to foods try adding foods that already have flavor such as red/sweet onions, scallions, and garlic.

15 year cook.

I saute green beans all the time (and also the thinner "long green Asian beans" which will cook up even quicker**).

I often use olive oil, but sometimes use a flavorless oil--perhaps along with just a bit of butter for diff. flavor.
I might leave them plain, or more often add something toward the end part of sauteing like balsamic vinegar, oyster sauce, or lemon juice, parsley and butter/etc, or any spice mix that sounds appealing. Some people might add something hot-spicy too.

I also broil them in the oven by coating lightly with olive oil, laying out single-layer in an oven pan, and sprinkling with Kosher salt...then broiling near the coils for about 5 minutes. Sometimes I go for the Balsamic vinegar instead.

I like to cook mine either way till they begin to turn a bit brown for that nice tasty carmelization.

** I never bother with parboiling my beans (or putting in microwave for short time to soften a bit) before sauteing or broiling them. I just cut them into lengths, and often make each end cut diagonal to thin them a bit, and just cook a bit longer, perhaps with a lid on part of the time to also steam-cook more quickly. I don't like to boil things at all in general, since some of the vitamins will get into the water and be tossed.

You might be interested in doing them "en papillote" sometimes too, and then you can add all kinds of flavors --perhaps with no fat at all:
http://www.google.com/search?q=recipes+e…
(I can't figure out how to get recipes for them without any fish, etc, but you can just use the same recipes and eliminate any fish/meat....or try some of these:
http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Side/V…
AHA!..... try these: http://www.google.com/search?q=vegetaria…
Btw, if you're doing en papillote in a regular oven, you can use aluminum foil or parchment paper but in a microwave no alum. foil of course. Or you can just use a tightly-covered container just large enough for the ingredients...or steam them in a steamer basket or in other ways.

hi, most all veggies are great sauteed but sauteing requires high heat with less cooking time and a more tasty flavor, beans s/with pepper and butter sounds good and yes veggie oil/ i can't believe it butter will also produce a great flavor.

Yeah,Stop getting hung -up on what's supposedly "unhealthy" and just enjoy eating good food and when you use butter for sauteing use clarified because it has a higher smoke point

a little butter is not going to kill anyone. you like them with butter, use it. life is too short.