This yummy Christmas side dish is the perfect way to get greens on the table in a sophisticated, yet totally simple and delicious way. The Green Beans with Caramelised Shallots and Toasted Almonds make a wonderful contrast to all the root vegetables and have a lovely juicy crunch.
I decided to make this more festive dish rather than the usual peas, because, well, it’s time to change it up. These green beans taste fresh, but with a sweet topping of caramelised shallots and flaked almonds. The nutty taste of the almonds goes really well with the soft and sweet shallots. It goes perfectly with the array of flavours we’ve made for our Vegan Larder Christmas dinner (check out our other Christmas posts).
If you don’t have green beans, feel free to use sugar snaps peas or any other similar green vegetable. Equally, if you don’t have access to shallots, just use white onions. To caramelise the shallots we use coconut palm sugar or maple syrup, as they are a bit healthier (as far as sugar goes…). But any other brown sugar or even agave nectar will work just fine.
The shallots get mixed with toasted flaked almonds for a sophisticated crunch that finishes off these vegetables in a lovely Christmassy way, although of course you can use this anytime throughout the year to jazz up greens, we certainly will be!
Green Beans with Caramelised Shallots and Toasted Almonds
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 300 g (2 cups) green beans (washed and with ends cut off)
- 3 shallots (chopped finely)
- 60 g (½ cup) flaked almonds
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar / maple syrup (or any other brown sugar)
Instructions
- Boil or steam green beans for 3-5 minutes (or until tender).
- In a frying pan, toast the flaked almonds for a few minutes (no oil needed). Toss every now and then to make sure they don’t burn. Once done, set aside.
- In a frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and sugar. Fry for a few minutes until the shallots are soft. Remove from the heat and add the flaked almonds.
- Place the green beans on a flat serving dish. Sprinkle the shallot and flaked almond mix over the beans.
Tim says
Hi folks, looks nice but I'm just wondering where you can get green beans at christmas, unless they're frozen. Surely fresh ones are coming from a long way off? So: food miles? Same applies to sugarsnap peas: a summer crop, in Britain, no?
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
Thank you for your comment. As it happens, Louise (one half of The Vegan Larder) had a huge crop of green beans from last summer that she froze & we used up in this recipe. We try and use local where we can, however our readers come from all over the world (Australia in particular). Feel free to use whatever delicious green veggies you have available - frozen or fresh- in this recipe.