Sweet & Sour Green Beans (for two)

 

This recipe I am sharing with you today is one that I have been eyeballing for several weeks now.  Sweet & Sour Green Beans.  I found the original recipe on a page called Spicy Southern Kitchen.  The photos looked amazingly delicious.

I love green beans. They are one of my favorite vegetables. I do like most vegetables, but green beans are right up there. They are one of the few vegetables that I enjoy canned as well.  But it is green bean season right now and I knew there would be no better time to enjoy a recipe such as this one!

I don't think there is a way of preparing green beans that I would not like.  I even enjoy them raw.   In salads, in casseroles, on their own plainly steamed, etc.  Love them any which way I can get them.

Simmered and then tossed together with a tasty sweet and sour bacon dressing, and then topped with crispy pieces of bacon???  Lets face it, this is a recipe that pushes ALL the flavor buttons!

 

I did take the liberty of downsizing the recipe to feed about 1/2 of the original recipe, which means three people, but if you are a green bean lover like myself, I say two people.  I could easily gobble up half of this recipe I am sharing with you today.

Crispy tender green beans.  Sweet and sour dressing with the salty tang of bacon fat, and plenty of sauteed onion bits. (Not so healthy, but, umm  . . . tis a treat.)  Crisp and salty bacon pieces on top. I am all in!

I will be honest and up front with you. I poured off most of the bacon fat into my jar that I save bacon fat in. Just trying to be healthier, but I will not judge you if you decide to use it all in the dressing.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SWEET & SOUR GREEN BEANS

Surprisingly few ingredients.  Simple ingredients done well.

• 3/4 pound (340g) fresh green beans, washed well and trimmed
• 2 slices thick cut streaky bacon
• 1/2 small sweet onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 TBS soft light brown sugar
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp seasoned salt
• pinch fresh ground black pepper

 

This is green bean season at the moment, and they are coming fast and furious. I love fresh green beans most of all, but you could certainly use frozen green beans and even canned green beans for this recipe.  All would work well.

I am not sure what constitutes thick bacon. I bought what was labeled at thick cut bacon, but I didn't really think it was all that thick.  

 

I really miss the bacon that I could buy in the UK.  They had both streaky and back bacon, and you could sometimes find the two still attached.  If you are in the UK, do use streaky bacon as you will need the rendered fat to make the dressing.

 

I really like dry cure bacon, but I have not seen any of that here where I live.  In the UK you can also get smoked or unsmoked bacon (also known as green bacon.)  I do believe that you will need smoked bacon to give this dish the best flavor.

I used about 1/3 of a large sweet onion. The onions are not very good this time of year as the new season onions haven't been harvested yet.  I did specify half of a small onion.  Be careful not to use too much onion as you want the flavor to be subtle and not to take over the dressing.

 

HOW TO MAKE SWEET & SOUR GREEN BEANS

This is really a very simple dish to make. Basically you are just folding cooked beans into a lush sweet and sour bacon dressing, which goes together very simply in a skillet. I would say this is very similar to German Potato Salad.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the washed and trimmed green beans. Bring back to the boil and then simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how well you like your beans done. (I prefer them at 12 minutes.)

Drain well.

 

Chop the bacon into pieces. Cook until crisp in a large nonstick pan. Scoop out with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with some paper towels.

To the pan drippings, add the onion. Cook until softened over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

Add the drained green beans. Cook, stirring frequently, for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately, hot, with the bacon sprinkled over the top.

I erred when I was making this and actually started cooking the bacon as whole strips.  It didn't really matter much as I just cut it into 1 inch cube shapes after it was cooked.  

I didn't read the recipe through properly before beginning.  Let that be a lesson to you. Always read the recipe through  few times before starting. Don't be cocky like me and think you already know it all.

It didn't really make a big difference this time, but there are other recipes where it would, so the greatest and surest advice I would give anyone when it comes to cooking success is to read the recipe thoroughly a few times before beginning!

 

This was, simply put, delicious. That is the only way to describe it.  Sweet and tangy, with just the right amount of smokiness.   The green beans were just the other side of crispy tender, but not obnoxiously so.

That hit of crisp bacon scattered over top, the slightly caramelized onions in the dressing. Altogether this was a most delicious side dish. I could have eaten a whole plate of it and nothing else, no problem!

I often think that the side dishes you choose to serve with your main meal are as important as or even more important than the main. They can make or break your dinner for sure!  Here are some of my favorite sides!

RUSTIC SMASHED RED POTATOES -  I had never thought of mashing potatoes in the skins before I tried this recipe and I was pleasantly surprised at the deliciousness of it.  Meant to be rustic and creamy at the same time, this tasty dish is flavored beautifully with bay leaf, cream cheese, butter and chives. Its simple to make and incredibly delicious!

EASY HOMEMADE CREAMED CORN - After making creamed corn from scratch you will never quite look at canned cream corn the same!  Fabulously delicious and really easy to make. During corn season this fantastically tasty dish is a MUST make at least once or twice!

Yield: 2 - 3

Author: Marie Rayner

Sweet & Sour Green Beans

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 20 Min

The perfect side dish when the green beans are plentiful in the garden! Delicious with a sweet and tangy Bacon dressing!

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound (340g) fresh green beans, washed well and trimmed
• 2 slices thick cut streaky bacon
• 1/2 small sweet onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 TBS soft light brown sugar
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp seasoned salt
• pinch fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the washed and trimmed green beans. Bring back to the boil and then simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how well you like your beans done. (I prefer them at 12 minutes.)
2. Drain well.
3. Chop the bacon into pieces. Cook until crisp in a large nonstick pan. Scoop out with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with some paper towels.
4. To the pan drippings, add the onion. Cook until softened over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
5. Add the drained green beans. Cook, stirring frequently, for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately, hot, with the bacon sprinkled over the top.

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