Roasted String Beans and Scallions with Pine Nuts and Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 1½poundsstring beans (mix colors if you can!), trimmed

  • 3bunchesscallions, trimmed (including ½ inch off the green tops), cut into lengths to match the beans

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 tablespoonred wine vinegar

  • ⅓cupPine Nut Vinaigrette (see below)

  • Juice of ½ lemon

  • ¼teaspoondried chile flakes

  • 1 small handfull mint leaves

  • 1 small handfullbasil leaves

  • ¼cuppine nuts, lightly toasted (see below)

PINE NUT VINAIGRETTE

  • ¼cupred wine vinegar

  • 1tablespoonfish sauce

  • 2tablespoonswater

  • ½cuppine nutes, lightly toasted (see below)

  • ½garlic clove, smashed and peeled

  • ½teaspoondried chile flakes

  • ¼cupextra-virgin olive oil

TOASTED NUTS AND SEEDS

  • ¾cuppine nuts (¼ cup for tossing plus ½ cup for Pine Nut Vinaigrette)

WINE PAIRING

  • Rosé

Instructions

  • HEAT the oven to 425°F.

  • TOSS the beans and scallions with a healthy glug of olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and many twists of black pepper.

  • SPREAD onto two baking sheets in a single layer, so the ingredients aren’t too crowded.

  • ROAST until nicely softened and browned—even charred—in places, 20 to 30 minutes. (Rotate the pans during cooking if you need to so everything cooks evenly.)

  • PILE the beans and scallions into a large bowl and sprinkle with the vinegar.

  • TOSS to mix and let rest for about 10 minutes to cool slightly.

  • WHISK together the pine nut vinaigrette, lemon juice, andchile flakes in a small bowl.

  • POUR over the beans and scallions and toss to coat evenly.

  • TASTE the beans and dress with more lemon juice, salt, black pepper, or chile flakes to make the dressing zingy.

  • ADD the mint, basil, and pine nuts and toss gently again.

PINE NUT VINAIGRETTE

  • POUR the vinegar, fish sauce, and water into a small bowl or cup

  • PUT the pine nuts, garlic, chile flakes, and about half the vinegar mixture into a food processor and process until you have a slightly smooth puree, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil and then the rest of the vinegar mixture. The ingredients should emulsify into a creamy, thick-but-pourable dressing.

  • TASTE (watch out for the blade!) and adjust the flavors with more vinegar, fish sauce, or chile flakes. Adjust the consistency with more water if need be.

  • STORE in the fridge for up to 1 week.

TOASTED NUTS AND SEEDS

  • HEAT the oven to 350°F.

  • SPREAD the nuts or seeds on a pan in a single layer. For a small quantity, a pie plate is good; for more, use a rimmed baking sheet.

  • BAKE until you smell the nuttiness and the color is deepening slightly, 6 to 8 minutes for most whole nuts. Pine nuts will toast quickly, as will chopped or slivered nuts, and because of their small size, seeds cook the most quickly, so check early and often.

  • WHEN the nuts or seeds are done, transfer them to a plate so they don’t keep cooking on the hot baking pan. Determining doneness can be tricky, because the final texture won’t develop until they’re cool, so at this stage, you’re mostly concerned with color and flavor. To be safe, take them from the oven, let cool, taste one, and if not done enough, pop them back into the oven.

Notes

Nutrition

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