Roasted green beans with balsamic vinegar syrup

I wish I had something witty and clever to say about green beans (or French beans, as they are also known), but I don’t. All I can say is that I love them – the fresher they are, the better. I could never have imagined myself eating plain boiled vegetables – I always thought that would be too bland and boring. But what do you know, the yellow French beans that I’ve grown this summer have mostly been eaten exactly like that... picked from the plant, washed, boiled, sprinkled with a little salt and absentmindedly nibbled down while doing other things.

Given that I liked green beans at their plainest, I had no qualms about not liking them roasted in the oven – although, to be fair, it would NEVER have occurred to me to actually roast green beas. It was Nupur’s post on addictive green beans that set me on that particular track... and the recipe is 99% like hers, except that I used a balsamic vinegar reduction (left over from a previous recipe I’d tried).

Pete was dubious about the edibility of roasted green beans, but I made him try them anyway... and I think perhaps that the balsamic vinegar syrup tilted the balance in favour of the beans. What a lovely recipe!

Recipe for: Roasted green beans



Ingredients:

500gm green beans, topped and tailed
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing:
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar syrup

Method:

1. Toss the green beans with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 180C on a baking sheet till they acquire black spots.



Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

2. Place the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.



Adjust the flavour to suit your taste, if required.



3. Place the beans on a serving plate and pour on the dressing, then serve immediately.