Sautéed Romano Beans with Toasted Hazelnuts
Romano beans are similar to the standard green bean, but they are flat and grow in Mediterranean-type climates. I bought a bag from a local organic farmer at the Saturday Market. I was thrilled to see that this particular stand was using Bio Bags to sell their produce! I sure wish all co-ops and health food stores would switch to this biodegradable and compostable form of plastic!
I wasn’t sure what I would do with them when I left the market, but I knew I would figure something out. I ended up steaming them, adding them to a Thai curry, and lastly making this yummy dish. You need to be careful when cooking Romano beans because they can all turn to mush if you overcook them!
This simple side dish is very quick to prepare. The toasted hazelnuts add a luscious flavor and crunch. This recipe is perfect for Phase 3 of the Elimination Diet though could be made for Phase 2 by replacing the nuts with toasted sunflower seeds.
The inspiration from this recipe came from Heidi’s 101Cookbooks blog where I noticed a recent photo involving green beans and hazelnuts. Her photos are so lovely, worth the trip over to her blog for sure!
Sautéed Romano Beans with Toasted Hazelnuts
Romano beans are available in the summertime from your local Farmer's Market. They are a pole bean, and incredibly easy to grow in your backyard! I use my large, 11-inch skillet for this recipe. Use a large enough pan so the beans can move around and sauté without being overcrowded and turn to mush. Cut very long beans in half to keep all of them relatively the same size.
To toast the hazelnuts, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place the nuts in a glass pie plate. Toast in the oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and you smell a luscious flavor being emitted from your oven! Cool on a plate then chop with a large knife.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add beans and sauté for about 4 minutes. Keep them moving in the pan to prevent the bottom ones from browning. I usually like to add a dash of salt or two at this point. Add crushed garlic and sauté for 30 to 60 seconds more. Garlic can burn very quickly so watch it.
- Quickly add the water and cover the pan. Cook until desired tenderness, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove lid and cook off any remaining liquid. Take pan off of the heat and toss the beans with the chopped hazelnuts and parsley. Season with Herbamare (it doesn’t take much) and freshly ground black pepper.
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About the Author
Ali Segersten
Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States. She is a Functional Nutritionist, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Alissa is the founder and owner of Nourishing Meals®.Nourishing Meals Newsletter
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Comments
Took me time to read the whole article, the article is great but the comments bring more brainstorm ideas, thanks.
- Johnson
Sara - Thanks, I am a big hazelnut fan too! :)
Anon - Thanks for sharing your recipe. It sounds amazing - all of the flavors of summer combined into one crunchy, colorful salad! I am going to make it soon. :)
I love Romano bean and corn salad. Cut a half-pound into 1/2- 1 -inch chunks, and steam just tender. Steam three ears of corn 3 minutes, and cut the kernals off the cob. Stir these together with half a chopped red pepper, 1/4 cup red onion (or sweet onion, or green onion tops), 6 chiffonaded basil leaves, OR 3 tablespoons snipped fresh dill, 2 minced cloves of garlic. Dress with vinegar and olive oil. It's totally goregous, crunchy, and holds up well in the fridge.
i love hazelnuts and they are so often overlooked. This looks great hot or cold!
Katrina - They are really yummy, hope you are able to find some and give them a try! :)
Heather - Yes, I really enjoy these beans! Don't you just love summer's bounty? Your veggie dish sounds perfect! Though now that I look at my recipe, it is more of a braising method, not totally a saute, but who's judging! Enjoy! :)
Jill - Yes I did find the recipe for the white nectarine ice cream and it reads like this: "White Nectarine Ice Cream" - 3 ripe white nectarines......that's it! Apparently Tom got distracted when he was writing it down and left it at that! No worries, I am already working out the recipe. :)
Shirley - Thanks! I am sure you would like this one too. I am glad to hear you are enjoying the zucchini bake and green smoothies! Thanks for your feedback! :)
Debbie - Thanks! :)
Kelly - Double thanks! :)
Diane - Enjoy! :)
Pam - Refreshing and crunchy! :)
Deb - Thanks, yes super simple and very fast, hope you find the beans! :)
Yumm! This looks great, I am going to the Farmer's Market tomorrow and will look for these. Can't wait to try it and super simple too!
Thanks again!
Deb
Your dish looks very refreshing!
So that's what those beans were in my CSA. Thank you! I hope they're still good. I'm going to make this dish tomorrow with my mother-in-laws mushy pole beans. Thank you!
Wow. That sounds sooooo good! And I'll eat anything with hazelnuts! Yum!
I've never had Romano beans, but you sure make them look good, Ali.
Wow, great photos and another beautiful dish! If I've seen Romano beans before, I didn't pay attention because I didn't know what they were. I'll be on the look out now. Love all the other ingredients, so I know I'd enjoy this dish.
Just finished my green smoothie and making the "cheesy" zucchini bake just for me and Mr. GFE this evening, so you're definitely influencing my eating--in a very good way! :-)
Thanks, Ali!
Shirley
This looks lovely. I just saw some Romano beans, too. I don't think I've ever tried them. By the way, have you happened to find your recipe for nectarine ice cream yet? :-) The nectarines are so yummy right now.
We got a back of the green ones at our farmer's market last week. We boiled them and ate them with fresh corn and zucchini and yellow squash. This week, we bought a bag of the yellow ones. They are really good aren't they?
Great recipe! I think we'll try them sauteed this week.
OOOHHH!!! I'm sitting here thinking, "what the heck are Romano beans?" I've seen those before. I think I just assumed they were a mix of green beans and wax beans.