13 Oct Blistered Green Beans with Tahini
I often get caught in the trap of looking for ways to make my favorite junk food free from inflammatory ingredients. I go to great lengths mimicking my favorite gluten, dairy or sugar filled recipes. This makes eating the way I need to in order to feel good less of a chore, because I can convince myself that I don’t have to go without my favorite comfort foods.
The choice to change to gluten, dairy and sugar free eating is a response to a lifetime of eating foods that didn’t produce the result I wanted. Now, I need to embrace that junk food recipe mimicry isn’t going to get me to my final goal of a sustainable healthy diet that makes me feel good. Getting there is going to take finding recipes that leave me feeling fulfilled in a new way – a new way that only foods truly good for our bodies can. Don’t worry – I still plan to have plenty of dessert! I just want to strive for authentic cooking that honors the limitations of the diet I have chosen.
Salads and veggies are the undisputed heroes of healthy eating for their high vitamin and mineral content paired with their low calorie count. So let’s ENJOY our veggies! Not because we drowned them with cheese, but because we are eating quality veggies that are local, in season, prepared simply and well.
I hope this recipe reminds you that veggies can be hearty. These are cooked with oil, blistered to give them some tasty grit, sauced with a lemony, garlic-y tahini dressing and finished with sesame seeds. I hope you love these beans as much as I do, and I hope it reminds you that veggies can be hearty and delicious!
Blistered Green Beans with Tahini
- Category: Appetizer, Dairy Free, Dinner, Easy, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Salads, Sides, Snacks, Sugar Free, Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 lb Green beans, trimmed
- 2 tbsp. Cooking oil
Dressing
- 1/4 c Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 c Olive oil
- 1/4 c Tahini
- 1 Clove(s) of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. salt
- fresh ground black pepper
Topping
- 1/4 c Sunflower seeds, toasted
Instructions
To make dressing:
- Combine all ingredients into a glass jar with a lid and shake until well combined.
To blister beans and put it all together:
- Put cooking oil into a cast iron skillet and heat until shimmering. Add trimmed green beans and cook, undisturbed, for 4-6 minutes, toss with a spatula and allow to cook another 2-4 minutes undisturbed. It is important to not turn the beans too much so you can get deep blistering and browning.
- Once beans are browned and blistered to your liking, add the tahini dressing and toasted sunflower seeds to the hot skillet (to taste) and remove from heat. Rest it for a few minutes before serving.
Katie Hamilton
Posted at 03:43h, 04 FebruaryYummy! I made this for dinner tonight with the addition of a few fresh sliced radishes added in the last minutes of cooking. We all loved it, especially my 5 year old. Thanks for the solid & easy recipe, Caryn. We miss you in Denver!
Caryn
Posted at 16:20h, 05 FebruaryThat is awesome Katie, so glad to hear the kids liked it! Try the dressing and seeds on fresh chopped kale also! Miss you guys too!