Mess O' Beans

A few days ago, just before the ridiculous heat wave smothered half the nation, a dear friend gave us a mess of fresh green beans plucked  from her mother's garden.  That night, I made a pretty decent double-dredged buttermilk fried chicken topped with fried  rosemary and thyme leaves.

Ultimately, my plan was to serve long simmered bacon-infused green beans with the fried chicken. The perfect pairing for a Sunday supper. Somehow along the way, time got away from me and I lost the luxury of time needed for a long slow simmer of the green beans. Although delicious, I didn't want to settle for beautifully sauteed crisp  green beans.  I craved bacon, especially green beans with bacon.

 Culinary insanity.

After trimming the green beans, I blanched them in salted boiling water for 3 minutes before dumping them into an iced water bath to stop the cooking. When cooled,  I dried them with paper towels and wrapped them with thick cut applewood smoked bacon strips. 

I drizzled the green bean bacon bundles with oilve oil, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and slid them into a blistering hot 425 degree oven to roast for 15 minutes.  During the last minute, I cranked the broiler to crisp the bacon.

Quick and easy.

The caramelized char of the green bean bundles were wonderfully crunchy, smoky, and sweet.  Combined with the crisp salty bacon, they were perfect bites alongside buttermilk fried chicken. Messy fabulous finger food.