There’s an adorable restaurant in Old Montreal called Olive et Gourmando that serves up the most delicious lunch. You come here for their fresh baked French pastries and breads, creative sandwiches, loaded salads, and in my opinion, GREEN BEANS. The restaurant itself is always busy and you will most likely need to wait 20-30 minutes to get a table, but fret not, there are plenty of darling shops in the area to keep you busy as you wait.
We ordered their famous Cuban sandwich with pancetta, roasted pork, raw milk gruyère, and their lime, cilantro, chipotle, and pickle mayonnaise. We also tried their Big Healthy Salad and a dish called “House Made Ricotta Salty” which was a plate of their house made ricotta served with fresh green beans, caramelized shallots, fried garlic, smoked almonds, fresh herbs, and a vinaigrette with their garlic grilled baby bread. Everything we had there was delicious, but we all agreed that the green beans stole the show.
Whenever I go to a restaurant and try something amazing that I’ve never had before I instantly take out my phone and write down all of the ingredients along with a description of the item so that I can challenge myself with recreating it and then share the recipe with all of you lovely people. As soon as I got home from my trip to Montreal, I ran out to the store and bought everything I would need to make the green beans and got to work. The results were fabulous, the green beans were fresh and bright tasting from the herbs and vinaigrette and incredibly flavorful from the rich caramelized shallots, garlic, and almonds.
The best part about this green bean salad is that it’s amazing both hot and cold. It makes a delicious lunch, the best leftovers, and a gorgeous platter to put out when you’re entertaining along with some creamy salted ricotta and crusty toasted bread. It is important that you use haricot verts for this recipe instead of traditional green beans. Haricot Verts are also known as French green beans and are thinner, shorter, and more tender than traditional green beans. They also cook in about half the time….WINNING! You can find these easily at Trader Joe’s.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Shallots and Garlic. Peel your shallots and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices. Cut peeled garlic into thin slices. If your green beans still have the stems, remove those.
Step 2: Caramelize. Heat olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter, shallots, and garlic. Sprinkle with sugar and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook shallots and garlic until they begin to brown evenly, then turn heat down to low and continue to cook until very soft, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Step 3: Greeny Beanie Miney Mo. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Set up a bowl ice water for shocking. Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until tender but still have some bite, 5 to 7 minutes. Strain and immediately transfer the beans to the ice water. Once cool, strain and set aside.
Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Add the beans to the pan and saute for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the beans to a mixing bowl.
Step 4: Vinaigrette. Make your vinaigrette. Combine olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and black pepper in a mason jar and give it a good shake.
Step 5: Toss it. Combine green beans, dill, garlic, shallots, almonds, parsley, and vinaigrette in a large mixing bowl. Toss together and serve.
Greeny Beanie Miney Mo {Crazy Good Green Beans}
Ingredients
For the shallots and garlic:
- 3 shallots cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices
- 3 cloves of garlic cut into thin slices
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
For the green beans:
- 12 oz -1 lb haricot verts (French green beans)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
For the vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- Pinch of kosher salt
- A turn of freshly ground black pepper
For the green bean salad:
- 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley minced
Instructions
- Peel your shallots and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices. Cut peeled garlic into thin slices. If your green beans still have the stems, remove those.
- Caramelize. Heat olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter, shallots, and garlic. Sprinkle with sugar and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook shallots and garlic until they begin to brown evenly, then turn heat down to low and continue to cook until very soft, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Set up a bowl ice water for shocking. Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until tender but still have some bite, 5 to 7 minutes. Strain and immediately transfer the beans to the ice water. Once cool, strain and set aside.
- Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Add the beans to the pan and saute for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the beans to a mixing bowl.
- Make your vinaigrette. Combine olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and black pepper in a mason jar and give it a good shake.
- Combine green beans, dill, garlic, shallots, almonds, parsley, and vinaigrette in a large mixing bowl. Toss together and serve.
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