Revisiting Fire

It must have been a move on the part of the early industrialized generations away from barbaric cooking with fire. They wanted to prove they could use more interesting tools. They wanted to use modern devices like cooking stoves and pots that could hold and heat water. I’m chalking it all up to excitement over new-fangled culinary gadgets. They couldn’t really have set out to totally ruin string beans.

The green bean and yellow wax bean varieties we eat today no longer have the fibrous string that gave them their old fashioned name, but they’re still susceptible to destruction by over-boiling. Those mushy, brownish, vegetable-like bits that passed themselves off as green beans in my childhood almost made me swear off vegetables for life. Luckily, my mom grew lots of beans in her garden, so I knew what they were supposed to be.

I’ve been sticking with raw or blanched beans for most recipes, being afraid to overcook them. Recently, however, I came across a couple recipes for roasted green beans. I really enjoy other roasted vegetables and I figured that at high, dry heat, the beans would brown and perhaps crisp, but wouldn’t turn to mush. Since the season for green and yellow beans corresponds with the time I want to use the grill instead of the oven, I took back the fire and converted roasted beans into grilled beans.

I basically used the same techniques and equipment as I do to make grilled potatoes. A pan for the grill is essential, unless you’re really good at keeping beans from falling through grill grates. (You could also cover the rack with foil if you don’t have a pan.) I tossed the beans with olive oil, salt and pepper, grilled them until they were just getting tender and brown, then tossed the hot beans with a bit of lemon juice and fresh parsley. The results were so delicious it was hard to believe the recipe was so simple. And by revisiting primitive, fire-fueled (albeit with propane-fueled fire) cooking, green and yellow beans can be reintroduced to the realm of real food.

Grilled Green or Yellow Beans
I’ve had equal success with both green beans and yellow wax beans.

½ pound green beans or yellow wax beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
¼ teaspoon salt
a few grinds of freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

2. Place the beans in a large bowl. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat the beans.

3. Place the beans in a pan on the preheated grill. Cover and grill 10 to 15 minutes or until the beans are beginning to brown in places, stirring or tossing occasionally. (You can always taste one to test for doneness.)

4. Remove from the grill and place in a large bowl (the bowl you used before is probably fine). Add lemon juice and parsley and toss to combine.

Makes 2 generous side dish servings.

Other recipes like this one: Grilled Potatoes with Lime-Herb Dipping Sauce, Green Bean and Shiitake Salad with Creamy Wasabi Dressing, Mustard Greens and Green Bean Stir Fry with Peanuts

One year ago: Granola

Grill, Baby, Grill

'Tis the season to be grilling! It's back to "normal" post-solstice temperatures (we had a rather cool spell...you'll never hear me complain about that) and at such times I try to avoid using the kitchen in the late afternoon, except to make salads and scoop ice cream. The grill wheels itself out to our rescue in an admirably faithful manner. (Okay, so I have to wheel it out myself, but it's still faithful, despite being stored for a few winters on the porch without a cover, partially exposed to the bitter Minnesota elements.)

I love grilled food. Anything I can cook over even our relatively flavorless (compared to charcoal) propane flame somehow always tastes better. I love to grill vegetables and potatoes and even bread (and the occasional marshmallow destined to be squashed between graham crackers with a chocolate bar), but it seems that meat tends to take center stage, or center grate, on our grill. And I love barbecue sauce. Our grill may be the greatest saboteur in my hopes of someday being at least mostly vegetarian.

I have dreams of someday perfecting my own barbecue sauce (Anne Marie's Super-Atomic Gusto Sauce: guaranteed to stain your apron and blow your mind!) I haven't even begun my food detective work on that case yet, but I do have an Asian-inspired marinade/sauce that is quite reliable. It is flavored with hoisin sauce, a Chinese barbecue-style sauce that I'm not crazy about in dishes like stir fry or fried rice. But put it on a barbecue, and I'll lick it off my fingers.

This marinade is easy to throw together and will keep for a while in the refrigerator (just don't keep any sauce in which you already marinated something.) It makes enough to marinade and glaze about six servings of your choice of protein. (I usually make half of this recipe, since I most often cook for two.)

I have picked, chosen, and consolidated several recipes for hoisin-based marinades and sauces and have settled (for now) on one that is almost as versatile as it is delicious. I've used it on chicken, steak, pork loin, salmon and tofu, and have loved the results with each one. I bet you could brush it on shrimp or scallops as well. I just marinate whatever I'm cooking in some of the sauce, putting the remainder aside to brush on later. I marinate beef, chicken and pork for several hours; salmon for 30 minutes; and tofu for as long as is convenient. When the marinating is complete, I discard the marinade and put the food on a hot grill.

I then glaze it with the reserved sauce as it cooks. It forms a nice glaze and has tremendous flavor that hints at American-style barbecue sauce, but with a performing cast that is clearly Asian, with soy sauce and sesame oil politely requesting notice.

You should be able to find hoisin sauce in the supermarket with other Asian ingredients in the ethnic foods aisle. Shao Hsing wine (you may find it spelled differently, like shaoxing) is harder to find, but is increasingly available in ethnic aisles at supermarkets as well. I think I found my bottle at Woodman's. If you can't find it, you could substitute dry sherry, or broth, which is probably more convenient.

Chinese-Style Barbecue Sauce and Marinade

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup finely-chopped green onions (scallions)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons peeled ginger, minced

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons Shao Hsing wind, dry sherry, or broth

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Use as marinade or barbecue sauce.

Makes enough for at least 6 servings of grillable protein.