Contest-Winning Garden State Salad

Thanksgiving week. I drove to Oak Lawn on Wednesday evening after school — the drive on the Stevenson in Thanksgiving traffic is about ninety minutes, which I spent listening to a podcast about special education law and eating a granola bar. I arrived at ten PM and Patty had left the porch light on and there was a container of soup on the stove for me. She had gone to bed but she had left the soup and the porch light. This is Patty's love language in concentrated form.

Thanksgiving at Steve and Patty's, everyone there. Matt and Danielle and the kids from Springfield. Kristin from New York. Babcia Rose picked up by Steve. I brought the sweet potato casserole, made properly this time with the added salt, and a green bean dish I had been working on: actual fresh green beans (not the canned kind), blanched and then sauteed with garlic and olive oil and lemon zest and toasted almonds. A real green bean dish, not the casserole kind, and I say this without judgment of the casserole kind.

Babcia Rose tasted the green beans. She said nothing for a moment. Then she said "Fresh beans." Yes, I said. She said "Good." Then she moved on to the pierogi. From Babcia Rose, "good" about a vegetable dish is a Grammy nomination. I ate two helpings of everything. Jake, who is nine now, ate only turkey and rolls and declared the rest "kind of weird," which is exactly correct for a nine-year-old and I admire his honesty.

After dinner I helped Patty with the dishes. We stood at the sink together the way we always have, the same positions, her washing and me drying, the voices of the family audible from the living room. She said "Your first Thanksgiving as a teacher." I said yes. She said "How is it?" I said it is exactly right. She handed me a dish and said "Good." The sweet potato casserole had a crust on it by the time we were done with the dishes and we each ate a forkful standing at the counter. Perfect. That is the best kind of perfect.

This is the dish I brought to Oak Lawn — the one I had been quietly workshopping for weeks because I wanted to bring something that felt like it came from me and not from a can. The fresh beans matter. The lemon zest matters. The toasted almonds are the thing that makes it feel finished rather than thrown together. I’m writing it down here because Babcia Rose said “good” and I want to remember exactly what I made when she said it.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, stem ends trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for blanching water
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Instructions

Blanch the beans. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the green beans and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until bright green and just crisp-tender — they should still have a little snap. Drain immediately and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again and pat dry with a clean towel.
Toast the almonds. In a small dry skillet over medium heat, add the slivered almonds and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant. Watch them closely — they go from toasted to burned quickly. Pour onto a plate and set aside.
Build the garlic oil. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute until softened and fragrant but not browned.
Saute the beans. Add the blanched, dried green beans to the skillet. Toss to coat in the garlic oil and cook 2 minutes, just to warm through and let the garlic flavor settle into the beans. Remove from heat.
Add brightness. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper directly to the skillet. Toss well until every bean is coated.
Assemble and finish. Transfer the beans to a serving platter. Scatter the cherry tomatoes, red onion, and toasted almonds over the top. Finish with the fresh parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature — both work at a holiday table.

Nutrition (per serving)

Contest-Winning Garden State Salad — The Green Beans That Earned a “Good” from Babcia Rose