Southern Green Beans with Apricots

January 2023. I started the new food journal on the first of the year. The old one—the spiral notebook I'd started in January 2020—was full. Three years of weekly entries, the pandemic and beyond. I put it on the shelf with Danny's notebooks and started fresh with the hardbound one Hannah gave me.

The new year felt like a hinge. Lily at OU, close enough to drive to. The land purchased and beginning. River almost two years old and already recognizing food as something with significance—he says "big bread" when he sees fry bread, which Caleb and I consider a linguistic and culinary milestone. The catering work grown into something real and purposeful. The food journal as an ongoing record.

I made a resolution of sorts, not the New Year's Eve kind but the quiet January kind: to keep teaching. Not formally, not with any credential. Just to do what Danny did for me, which was to bring people into the kitchen and into the woods and into the garden and let the knowledge move where it moved. Kai was the primary student. River would follow as he grew. Maybe others eventually.

Made a big pot of Hoppin' John on New Year's Day—black-eyed peas with rice and pork, a tradition Hannah brought into our household from her family's practice. We've done it every January 1 for years and I've come to believe in it completely. The peas for luck, the rice for prosperity, the greens that go alongside for money. You don't have to believe in the symbolism for the food to be good, but the symbolism doesn't hurt.

New year. Kai helping at the stove, River watching from a high chair, the land waiting, the journal open. Good conditions to work from.

Every year we make Hoppin’ John, Hannah reminds me that the peas are luck, the rice is prosperity—and the greens are money. That last part always makes River laugh now, even if he doesn’t fully know why yet. These Southern green beans with apricots are what we put on the table alongside the peas and rice: a little savory, a little sweet, bright enough to feel like something beginning. If you’re going to believe in the symbolism, you may as well make the greens worth eating.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
1/2 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
3 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

Cook the bacon. In a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp and the fat has rendered, about 5–6 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan.
Soften the aromatics. Add the sliced onion to the drippings and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Build the braise. Stir in the chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the green beans and chopped apricots. Stir to combine.
Simmer until tender. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring once or twice, until the green beans are tender and have absorbed most of the liquid, about 12–15 minutes. Remove the lid for the last few minutes if you want a slightly thicker glaze.
Season and finish. Season with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Transfer to a serving dish and top with the reserved crispy bacon.

Nutrition (per serving)

Southern Green Beans with Apricots — The Greens That Go Alongside