I used to have a conflicted relationship with green beans. During holidays, when they were slathered in some variation of cream of mushroom soup and topped with buttery crisp-fried onions, I loved them. At the good Southern meat-and-three restaurants of my childhood, they were cooked down with country ham until they were dark green and falling apart. Those were good green beans, too. But what about the times in between the holidays and my down-and-dirty Southern joints? I made green beans all sorts of ways — sauteed with slivers of fresh garlic, tossed with some lemon juice, or even just coated in butter — but nothing seemed to satisfy me the way the incredibly unhealthy ways to eat green beans did. Sigh. It seems like that’s always the case.
I was content to reserve green beans for only the holiest, most decadent occasions until I stumbled upon this Nom Nom Paleo recipe for the best roasted green beans, ever. Sure, I’ve made some tweaks, but basically, the combination of a really hot oven, a few dashes of olive oil and a sprinkling of fish sauce = tender, smoky-tart green beans that seriously take zero effort and make the best side dish.
