String Beans Provencal
The word “Provencal,” like “Tuscany,” sets off a chain of associations: sweeping vistas, weathered farmhouses, trestle tables laden with oozy cheeses and ripe figs.
In lieu of such wonders, I give you our back yard, two weeks ago, when the wild roses were blooming .
The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook and its author–the eponymous Alice B. Toklas (go and look it up, and use a goddamned dictionary) predate much of what tilted into tourist nonsense. So does today’s recipe, String Beans Provencal.
Miss Toklas’s string bean recipe is the soul of simplicity. The use of both capers and anchovies may seem excessive. Take care to rinse both thoroughly and all will be well.
Many anchovy haters have only sampled the rubbery things atop cheap pizzas. I was such a person. Real anchovies are something else altogether. Look for anchovies packed in salt or olive oil. As of this writing, they are still inexpensive.
After giving two fine recipes for string beans, Miss Tolkas mournfully concludes: “These are very nice ways to cook string beans but they interfere with the poor vegetable’s leading a life of its own.”
With all due respect to Miss Toklas, I don’t think the her recipes hamper beans from leading their own lives. Then again, it’s been a very long week in America, and my judgement about these matters may be slightly off.
Serve String Beans Provencal as a side dish, as part of a mezze, or as a main dish with bread, rice, and green salad.
String Beans Provencal
Recipe slightly adapted from Alice B.Toklas’s The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook
Serves 2. Easily scaled upward
Preparation time: about 20 minutes
1 pound/454 grams green or yellow string beans, trimmed
a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water, for the beans
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons capers, rinsed, patted dry, and lightly chopped
2-4 tablespoons anchovies, rinsed and patted dry
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper, to taste.
additional olive oil, if desired
fresh lemon juice, if desired
Boil the beans in the salted water until cooked to your preference. I like string beans to be thoroughly cooked, but realize that isn’t the popular preference. Drain the beans and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan that will hold all the ingredients. Add the capers, anchovies, garlic, and beans. Salt and pepper. Stir gently so the ingredients can meld without becoming crushed, 8-10 minutes. Add more olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice if wished.
Miss Toklas suggests serving String Beans Provencal hot, but I prefer it warm. It is delicious either way.
Leftovers keep, refrigerated in a covered container, up to five days. Freezing is not recommended.
Remembering Anne Burrell.
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