green beans | The Chile Trail

Is it just me or are stores cranking up the Christmas tunes around Halloween these days? “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!” No it isn’t. It’s not even Thanksgiving, although at least that holiday is days away. Note to self: buy a turkey. Speaking of which, why don’t we have Thanksgiving carols? “It’s beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving!” Now that’s a tune you could belt out.

And then there is Black Friday…don’t even get me started…Bah humbug.

Green beans, chile roasted tomatoes and crispy onions. What’s not to like?

I love Christmas as much as the next die-hard Scrooge. I even gave someone a Christmas present back in ’72. It was a tie. But I digress. I’d simply like to celebrate one holiday at a time. I’d like to enjoy New Year’s without feeling like I had to buy a Valentine’s card. Or celebrate Valentine’s Day without feeling like I need to stock up on Easter candy. Do you know what I mean?

On principle, I almost didn’t share this green bean recipe. Why you ask? Is it not delicious? Oh, yes it is. Is it not an excuse to open up a can of crispy onions, eat half of them while no one is looking, sprinkle the rest on the beans and then hide the can so no one knows your dirty little secret? Oh, yes it is.

It’s simply because it’s red and green. There, I said it. It shouts Christmas when all I’m thinking about is how can I wedge a 25-pound turkey, sweet potato casserole and dressing all into the oven at the same time. When I’m wondering why I invited Aunt Rose (again). And how many naps I can fit in post-Thanksgiving meal stupor. These are the things on my mind — not Christmas carols. I’ll deal with that later. Right after Black Friday.

Posole spice blend? Are you mad? Perhaps, but it’s just the ticket to spice up your green beans.

2 cups cherry tomatoes

3 Tbsp olive oil plus a splash more for the green beans

Scant 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp. New Mexico red chile (Chile Molido)

1 lb. green beans, tops removed

1 Tbsp. Posole spice blend

Store-bought crispy onions — as many as you want, go ahead it’s Thanksgiving!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the red chile tomatoes, wash the tomatoes and slice them in half. Pour half the olive oil in the bottom of a casserole dish that is large enough to hold the tomatoes in one layer. Place the tomatoes cut side up in the dish and drizzle the rest of the oil on top. Dust with the salt and red chile powder and place in the oven and cook for around 1 1/2 hours — until the tomatoes have shrunken but are still soft and jammy. You can make these ahead of time and store in a container in the fridge.

When you’re ready to get the show on the road, wash the beans, trim the top (stem end). Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil. Add the posole mix and let it boil happily for a few minutes. Add the beans and cook until just tender. This is not the time to go and make a Tik Tok video. Drain the beans and posole spice mix in a fine mesh strainer so you don’t lose any of the chile goodness.

Toss the beans in a bit of olive oil, top with the tomatoes and sprinkle some of the crispy onions on top. And be generous. It is a holiday after all.

At the Chile Trail, you know we’re all about clean living. In fact, I wrote a book on it. Ok, maybe I didn’t actually write a book, but I thought about it. Very seriously, thought about it. And exercise? I live for it. Only last week, I parked the car in the driveway instead of the garage and walked all the way to the front door.

For a moment I knew what it was like to be an Olympic athlete.

So I don’t mess around when it comes to eating my vegetables. I’m all over them. Can’t get enough of them. Pile my plate full of them. Except for Brussel sprouts, but we all have our limits. Maybe at Christmas but that’s it. And Thanksgiving. But then I draw the line.

The key with veg is not to boil the living daylights out of them. They’re vegetables for heaven’s sake, not your sworn enemy. It’s a kitchen, not the Spanish inquisition. Treat them gently. Blanch them – fancy talk for cooking quickly in boiling water, or roast them or stir fry. But don’t do what my Granny did and boil them until they’re limp and grey. Nobody likes a grey vegetable. Not even me.

Note: Kefir is a fermented milk drink that is pretty easy to find in supermarkets or health food shop. If you can’t, you could substitute buttermilk.

Makes 4 servings

1 head of broccoli, florets only

4 oz sugar snap peas

4 oz green beans

1 cup/8 oz kefir

1-2 tsp green chile sauce

1 lime, zest only

Salt

To make the kefir green chile sauce, mix together the kefir, one teaspoon of the green chile sauce and the lime zest. Set aside and taste in 10 minutes. Add another teaspoon if you’d like some more heat and season with salt. Set aside until you’re ready to serve.

Bring a pot of water to the boil. Salt the water generously. Blanch the sugar snap peas until just cooked but still crispy. Remove them from the pan, place in a colander and rinse under very cold water. Repeat with the green beans and then finally the broccoli. Place on a plate lined with a dish towel or paper towel and gently pat them dry.