Monday, May 7, 2012

Roasted Green Beans


I don't know why I never thought to roast fresh green beans before?  I love most veggies done this way, as roasting brings out the sweetness in a big way.  These green beans are quickly dressed and roasted, and end up tender crisp, with a slight caramelized edge on them.  If for no other reason, it's a new way to try a great, healthy vegetable!

Ingredients:
  • Fresh green beans, trimmed on the stalk side.  You can leave the curly end.
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • cracked black pepper
  • garlic powder
  • fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Step-by-step
kosher salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F while you trim the green beans.  Dress them simply with olive oil.  Sprinkle to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 
extra virgin olive oil
15 minutes total roasting time in 425 F oven.  Shake to turn over half way.


Roast for 15 minutes.  Gently shake them around to turn them over after the first 10 minutes.  Grate Parmesan cheese over them right after removing them from the oven.  Serve immediately. Yum!
How easy was that?  Almost embarrassingly so... so act like you worked hard on them.

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Written Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F while you trim the green beans.  Dress them simply with olive oil.  Sprinkle to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 
Roast for 15 minutes.  Gently shake them around to turn them over after the first 10 minutes.  Grate Parmesan cheese over them right after removing them from the oven.  Serve immediately. Yum!
How easy was that?  Almost embarrassingly so... so act like you worked hard on them.

Food Nerd Notes:
The following nutritional information is from: http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/green_beans.html.  Basically, green beans are awesomely nutritious and you need to eat more!
Tender, flexible green beans are delight of vegetarian lovers for their wholesome nutritional qualities. They are unripe or immature pods obtained from the bean plant belonging to common fabaceae family and known scientifically as Phaseolus vulgaris

  • Fresh green beans are very low in calories (31 kcal per 100 g of raw beans) and contain no saturated fat; but are very good source of vitamins, minerals, and plant derived micronutrients.
  • They are very rich source of dietary fiber (9% per100g RDA) which acts as bulk laxative that helps to protect the mucous membrane of the colon by decreasing its exposure time to toxic substances as well as by binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon. Dietary fiber has also been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels by decreasing re-absorption of cholesterol binding bile acids in the colon.
  • Green beans contain excellent levels of vitamin A, and many health promoting flavonoid poly phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin and ß-carotene in good amounts. These compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease process.
  • Zea-xanthin, an important dietary carotenoid in the beans, selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it thought to provide antioxidant and protective UV light filtering functions. It is, therefore, green beans offer some protection in preventing age related macular disease (ARMD) in the elderly.
  • Fresh snap beans are good source of folates. 100 g fresh beans provide 37 µg or 9% of folates. Folate along with vitamin B-12 is one of the essential components of DNA synthesis and cell division. Good folate diet when given during preconception periods and during pregnancy helps prevent from neural-tube defects in the offspring.
  • They also contain good amounts of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), and vitamin-C. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals.
  • In addition, beans contain healthy amounts of minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium, which are very essential for body metabolism. Manganese is a co-factor for the anti oxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is a very powerful free radical scavenger. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.

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1 comment:

  1. I made the green beans for dinner tonight. Freaking amazing! Didn't even use the cheese, just used extra virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper, and salt.

    My daughter and I are going to try these next time on our homemade pizza. Why not?!

    ReplyDelete

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