• 1 tbl of olive oil
  • 5 cloves of garlic sliced
  • 1 pound of string beans
  • 12 cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 1/4 cup veggies stock
  • salt and pepper to season

yesterday my family came over for dinner. my mom wanted steak, and since it was beautiful outside, we broke out the charcoal and had our first bbq of the season! it was great, as well as the steak we had garlic and chive mashed potatoes (recipe tk) and the string beans above.

i like creating new things, especially veggie dishes because after while steamed string beans with olive oil just doesn’t do it for me. while i was cleaning the beans i took a mental note of what i could add to make it a little different, garlic, sure, cherry tomatoes, yep, but what else? alcohol, why not. i opened up the cabinet and spotted a small bottle of brandy, i had some veggie stock too so i tried it, i figured if it didn’t work out i could just wash off the beans and add some olive oil.

i decided i really like cooking with alcohol. i have always cooked with wine and sherry, sauces and soups, but never really anything else. never veggies. this is a dish i would make again and again, it might become my staple bbq side. if you don’t have brandy don’t worry, the stock, garlic and tomatoes will give this dish great flavor.

brandied string beans with garlic and tomatoes

  1. in a skillet, heat up and add a tbl of olive oil. to the olive oil add sliced garlic, cook but do not brown for about a minute. add string beans and toss, cook for another 3-5 minutes. add tomatoes and cook for another minute.
  2. very carefully, i took the skillet off the burner, add your brandy. put back on the burner and bring to a boil to let the alcohol burn out. give it about a minute or 2, add your stock.
  3. cook on a high simmer to cook the beans, the tomatoes will start to break down and the garlic will start to soften. i like my beans soft but still on the crunchy side, i cooked it for about 5 minutes after i added the stock. i tasted it and gave it a little sprinkle of salt.

i love string beans. this dish was simple and tasty, the brandy added a richness but the tomatoes and the garlic still gave it a light feeling. it was very fragrant and reminded me of the warm weather to come.

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