• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Pinch My Salt

Food, Recipes, and Photography

  • About
  • Contact
  • Links
  • Recipe List
  • Store
  • The BBA Challenge

Summer Fest: Green Beans with Balsamic Browned Butter

August 11, 2010 by Nicole 54 Comments

Green Beans with Balsamic Browned Butter

It’s Summer Fest time and this week we’re celebrating herbs, greens, and beans.  My contribution to the party is a simple side dish of green beans dressed in a rich balsamic browned butter sauce.  It can be thrown together in minutes and has an extremely short ingredient list, but don’t let that fool you.  The flavor of these green beans will blow you away!

Green Beans with Balsamic Browned Butter

1 pound green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Cook green beans in a large pot of salted water just until crisp-tender; drain then arrange on a serving plate.  In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Cook until the butter solids have started to brown, about 2 – 3 minutes.  Remove pan from heat.  Add the tablespoon of balsamic vinegar – be careful, it will sputter.  Swirl pan or stir with a long-handled spoon until it stops bubbling.  Season with a bit of salt and freshly ground black pepper then spoon butter mixture over the green beans.  Serves 4.

Other Recipes Featuring Herbs, Greens, and Beans:

  • Maple-Rosemary Glazed Walnuts
  • Herbed Cheese Biscuits
  • Cilantro Caesar Salad with Carne Asada
  • Cucumber Salad with Fresh Dill
  • Tangerine and Jicama Salad with Garlic and Cilantro
  • Whole Wheat Greek Orzo Salad
  • Creamy Spinach Soup
  • Edamame and Pea Soup with Herbed Lemon Cream
  • Herbed Tuna Salad with Feta and Pine Nuts
  • Green Beans with Bacon and Tart Cherry Balsamic Glaze

Other Summer Fest Attendees Celebrating Herbs, Greens, and Beans:

  • Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple use fresh mint to make Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
  • Margaret at A Way to Garden stores a year of herbs—and makes one-pot Farinata a polenta dish with greens
  • Food Network UK is on the edge with herbs and greens
  • Caroline at the Wright Recipes is cooking up Wax and Butter Bean Herbed Salad
  • Jennifer and Mark at Gilded Fork have a virtual garden of recipes for basil, cilantro, fennel, lavender, lemongrass, rosemary, sage and tarragon.
  • Cate at Sweetnicks shares Fresh Green Bean Salad with Herb Vinaigrette
  • Alana at Eating From the Ground Up has Shirred Eggs with Fresh Herbs
  • Healthy Eats share their Top Six Herbs
  • Allison at Food2 shows how to use up leftover herbs with Use-it-up Pesto
  • The Cooking Channel has The Best Bean Salads and a French take on beans, greens, and herbs
  • The FN Dish has recipes for The “Other” Summer Greens
  • Tigress in a Jam has a preserving–book giveaway, and ways to put up greens, beans, herbs
  • Kelly at Just a Taste shares Fresh Herb Ricotta
  • Caron at San Diego Foodstuff shares recipes for Kale and Feta Empanadas and Roasted Romano Beans
  • Judy at Tuscan Diva shares her Tuscan Herb Blend
  • Tara at Tea & Cookies shares her Clean Out the Fridge Frittata
  • Shauna and Danny at Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef tell us What to do with Fava Beans
  • Paige at The Sister Project says Aloha, Pesto

How You Can Join in Summer Fest 2010

Summer Fest 2010 Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting with our posts of Wednesday, July 28, for five Wednesdays, you can contribute in various ways, big or small.

Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites.com).

Summer Fest 2010 Posting Schedule

7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25: Tomatoes

Filed Under: Side Dishes, Summerfest 2010, Vegetarian

Previous Post: « Silent Sunday: How Did You Spend Your Weekend?
Next Post: Food Blog Friday: Coconut Cupcakes from Simply Recipes »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christina says

    August 11, 2010 at 5:00 am

    Hi! I'm a new blogger and I've been following your posts for a while. I love the idea of Summerfest and I've posted my first contribution on my blog. Thanks for coordinating such a fun way to celebrate the summer season. I can't wait to do it again next year! Best wishes and by the way, your photography is an inspiration to me....so beautiful!
    Reply
  2. Lyndsey says

    August 11, 2010 at 5:44 am

    Good morning! I love the fact that you guys created the Summer Fest 2010 challenge. I love how it encourages people to go out and support local farmers and focus on in-season produce, two topics I'm quite passionate about. I had a great time trying out this week's challenge and can't wait to do another soon! Enjoy my recipe: Green Bean-Filled Double Corn Muffins with Herbed Yogurt Frosting: http://achanceofsprinkles.blogspot.com/2010/08/media-musings-and-summer-fest-2010.html
    Reply
  3. Kalyn says

    August 11, 2010 at 6:13 am

    Love the sound of balsamic and browned butter on green beans!
    Reply
  4. Ranjani says

    August 11, 2010 at 6:51 am

    Yum - looks simple and delicious! I'm really enjoying Summer Fest. This week, I made pasta with greens, beans, and garlic bread crumbs: http://4seasonsoffood.blogspot.com/2010/08/pasta-with-greens-beans-and-garlic.html
    Reply
  5. Betty @ Scrambled Hen Fruit says

    August 11, 2010 at 7:31 am

    Love the browned butter balsamic on those beans! (Alliterative, too.) Now to check out the other links- this is a great idea to showcase a different veg/fruit each week. Perfect!
    Reply
  6. Beau @ SomethingEdible.com says

    August 11, 2010 at 8:01 am

    That brown butter + Balsamic thing might be a pretty swell vehicle to help dispatch some of the squash glut I'm experiencing. Thanks for the inspiration!
    Reply
  7. Kristina says

    August 11, 2010 at 8:04 am

    Anything with brown butter gets my vote! Here's my entry for this week: http://tnlocavore.typepad.com/tennessee_locavore/2010/08/szechuan-green-beans-with-ground-pork.html
    Reply
  8. Liam O'Malley says

    August 11, 2010 at 8:13 am

    Balsamic butter sounds delicious! I posted about compound butter in my summer fest post - clearly going hand in hand with the balsamic idea, though mine used fresh garden herbs this time. http://mysocalledknife.com/2010/08/summer-fresh-garden-herbs-and-compound-butter/
    Reply
  9. Melissa says

    August 11, 2010 at 8:26 am

    Love your recipe. This week for SummerFest at It's The Way She... I baked up a batch of Lemon-Thyme Walnut Biscotti http://itsthewayshe.blogspot.com/2010/08/summerfest-2010-so-many-herbsnever.html
    Reply
  10. Nancy says

    August 11, 2010 at 8:48 am

    those beans look amazing. We've had some really fantastic green beans in our CSA the last few weeks - truly perfect just as they are but that browned butter sounds so good. I recently posted an old favorite for a green salad with walnuts and feta: http://guinnah.blogspot.com/2010/07/green-bean-walnut-and-feta-salad.html love summer, love summerfest!
    Reply
  11. DessertForTwo says

    August 11, 2010 at 9:25 am

    I make these at least once a week-our garden is over-flowing! When I want to serve them for company, I use a fig balsamic from St. Helena Kitchens--it's worth searching for at Dean and Deluca!
    Reply
  12. Alison says

    August 11, 2010 at 11:22 am

    This looks amazing. This week my recipe is for Green Beans with Cilantro and Lime http://www.ingredientsinc.net/2010/08/summer-fest-2010-green-beans-with-cilantro-and-pine-nuts/
    Reply
  13. One Hungry Mama says

    August 11, 2010 at 11:31 am

    Balsamic Browned Butter. Ingenious! Can I eat that on everything, please?! Thanks for another week of Summer Fest fabulousness. I've got Hungry Mama round up of mostly greens and one herb recipe here: Hungry Mama Summer Fest Greens recipes You'll find Polenta Creamed Spinach, Hand-Held Spinach Pies (w/ a no-cook filling--so easy!), Chard & Mushroom Enchiladas, Kale Chips (really, though, my recipe has a kick that takes these up a notch!) and Tarragon Blackberry Grapefruit pops. Phew!
    Reply
  14. Melinda says

    August 11, 2010 at 11:52 am

    Oh thank you! I've been looking for some way to make green beans more interesting and this is PERFECT!
    Reply
  15. Finally Foodie says

    August 11, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    Mmmm, this green been recipe sounds delish! My go-to green bean recipe is blanching them for 1-2 minutes and squeezing lemon juice on top. This sounds super easy as well, will definitely give it a try!
    Reply
  16. Kim says

    August 11, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    At Flexitarian Foodie, we’re into beans and greens—together, or separately! Here are a few of our favorite related posts: Beans & Greens: The Soup http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com/2010/04/beans-n-greens-worlds-most-easy-going.html Creamy Vegetable Lasagna http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com/2010/04/transitioning-to-spring-with-veggie.html Avocado and Black Bean Enchiladas (my favorite!!!) http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com/2010/05/happy-cinco-de-mayo.html
    Reply
  17. marla {family fresh cooking} says

    August 11, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    The great thing about green beans and fresh produce is that we shouldn't need to do much to it. You simply highlighted a beautiful veggie and made it more perfect :) Here is my recipe for this weeks Summer Fest, I highlighted Basil: Grilled Cheese Bruschetta http://www.familyfreshcooking.com/2010/08/10/mozzarella-basil-tomato-grilled-cheese-bruschetta/
    Reply
  18. Aimee @ Simple Bites says

    August 11, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    Thumbs up for this edition of Summer Fest! I'm loving all the green bean recipes as they are one vegetable that my kids adore. So, thanks!! We're chatting about preserving herbs over at Simple Bites! We're trying to capitalize on summer's abundant crop and store it for winter. In today's post we cover when to pick herbs, drying and freezing. Don't miss out on the comments section either where our very savvy readers swap tips. My favorite? A working girl who dried herbs on trays in her car as it sits in the sun all day. Brilliant! http://www.simplebites.net/picking-drying-freezing-how-to-preserve-summers-herbs/
    Reply
  19. Meg says

    August 11, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    These sound great -- and so easy! I love green beans and am always looking for a fresh way to prepare them. Thanks!
    Reply
  20. Jodi says

    August 11, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    I just left my comment under the wrong recipe! Sorry! I made a contribution today! It posted a little later than I had planned but it's done! I love this green bean recipe of yours. I can't wait to try it! Delicious. http://www.paintchipsandcupcakes.com/2010/08/11/basil-pesto/
    Reply
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Posts by Category

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy · Terms and Conditions