Green Beans with Sweet Onion and Bacon
I saw this idea in a cookbook and it reminded me of a summer dish that my mother-in-law makes at her cottage, which I know Tom enjoys. So, I adapted it for the way we like to cook here. She cooks hers in a big pot of water, bacon and beans together, for a long time, in advance of the meal. I like to saute and serve.
Green beans and bacon go well together. The addition of finely chopped sweet onion and a honey-mustard vinegar dressing makes green beans even better.
Tom says this recipe is a keeper.
Here's what you will need:
1 quart fresh green beans
2 slices of low fat, low salt bacon
1/2 of a large sweet onion, like Vidalia, finely chopped
1 t. mustard
1 t. honey
splash of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Snap the green beans into bite sizes. Wash them and place in boiling water. They will need about 12 minutes to cook completely. At the same time, in a skillet, large enough to hold all of the green beans, cook two slices of bacon until very crispy. Remove the bacon, and an extra bacon fat. Leave only a tablespoon or so in the pan.
While the bacon and beans are cooking, finely dice the sweet onion.
Then add the onion into the skillet with the bacon drippings, while the green beans finish cooking.
Taste the green beans and drain them when they are just getting done. Don't let them overcook and get mushy. Put them in the pan with the diced sweet onion.
Directly to the hot pan, add a teaspoon of good Dijon mustard, a teaspoon of honey and a big splash of red wine vinegar. Stir to coat well, and season with salt and pepper.
Turn the beans out into a serving bowl and top with the crispy bacon, broken into bite-size pieces.
Serves 4.
