How to Broil Beans (Yes Broil, Not Boil!) Including Broiled Green Beans
How do you cook your beans? Whether dried or fresh, most people boil their beans. And of course, some beans are great for frying. But did you know that you can also broil your beans? Fresh beans can be broiled for a great unique taste. This is an easy way of cooking beans that gives you new options for your home menus. Broiled beans are a bit crispy so they're great as a snack but also good as a side dish.
Use these tips and ideas for broiling beans:
- Choose the right types of beans for broiling. Not all beans can be broiled. You want to choose fresh beans that are going to cook well in the broiler. Good beans to select for this type of cooking method include green beans, fava beans, edamame and yellow wax beans.
- Add olive oil to the beans for proper broiling. To allow the beans to broil right, you need to drizzle a little bit of oil over them. You can use your favorite type of cooking oil, of course, but olive oil is an ideal choice since its healthy and tastes good. A flavored olive oil will make your recipe even tastier! For example, you could use a lemon olive oil drizzled on top of green beans for a fresh summery broiled bean dish.
- Keep flavoring simple when broiling beans. Broiling beans really allows them to retain their natural flavor so you don't have to add a lot of spices or herbs to your beans when you use this cooking method. A flavored olive oil, a little bit of lemon or lime juice and some salt to taste should be plenty when broiling beans. In the case of fava beans, it is also popular to add a little bit of crushed garlic to the broiled beans.
- Broiling beans takes approximately ten minutes. One of the reasons that broiling beans is such a great method of cooking them is because it's really quick. It should only take about ten minutes in the broiler for your beans to be ready. You will want to stir them or toss them once or twice during that ten minutes so that they cook evenly. You will know that your beans are done broiling when they are tender to the touch and appear ready to eat. You can pull one out with a fork, let it cool and taste it to determine whether or not the broiled beans are ready.
- Eat the beans when they come out of the broiler. Of course, you'll want to let the beans cool off just a little bit so that you don't burn your tongue but this is a method of cooking that is intended for immediate consumption. If you're making a whole meal, you can save the broiling of beans until the very end since it should only take about ten minutes and they'll be ready to go.
It isn't too common for people to broil their beans. However, it's a terrific cooking option that you might consider taking advantage of. It's tasty, good for you and super simple to prepare!
