In my quest to up my veggie-cooking game I came to try the method called blanche and shock. It basically means, boiling the veggies in heavily salted water for a short time, then dumping them into ice-water. The salty water cooks them very quickly, and the plunge in the ice stops cooking instantly. This means, while the vegetables become soft and tender, they will keep their bright chlorophyll-rich green, and retain a crispy taste. One thing this method is great for, are green beans.
Preparation
First I cut the ends off, and halfed the beans into bite-sized lengths. Then I prepared the water, adding the salt. I can't tell you exactly how much, but it was a LOT. The idea is to make it taste like sea water. Once it was at a full boil, I added the beans.
The Blanche-and-Shock
That stopped the boiling, so I put the lid on and the pot on high heat. A few minutes later the water was bubbling again. That's when I started the timer for 3 minutes. When it rang, I picked out a bean and tried it. 30 seconds later another one. After 4 minutes of boiling, I considered them to be done, so I turned of the gas and removed the beans from the water, plunging them into a bowl of ice-water I had ready and waiting.
A Quick Sauté with Almonds
That was it, the hardest part was done. I removed the beans from the ice-water, and patted them dry. Now comes the sautéing part. In a wok I heated butter, threw in two large cloves of sliced garlic, a handful of sliced almonds, and the beans. High heat, constant motion, and in no time I could see the almonds getting toasted. Just the right moment to take them off the heat.
Olive-oil, and Lime Juice
I dumped out the ice-water, dried the bowl, and transferred the bean almondine into it. Now I just treated it like a salad: I poured some generous amount of olive oil over it, squeezed a few limes on top, and ground some flaky salt on it. A quick stir to mix it all up, and I had some delicious Green Bean Almondine to accompany the fajitas I made in another pan at the same time. But this recipe is about the veggies, not the meat!
Do It Again!
This method is most suitable for vegetables that are a bit hard and crunchy to begin with: green beans, asparagus, snow peas, broccoli florets, and tender greens, like chard or kale. Since the Green Bean Almondine worked out so well, I will try it next time with some asparagus.
