Italian Green Beans & Potatoes w/ Some Random Bites

Most people have never tried Romano beans, also known as flat Italian beans.
They are flat and fatter than regular green beans and I can never seem to find them.

When I was a kid, my grandmother used to buy them in a can and I LOVED THEM!
They were always cut on the bias, and big and fat.

Growing up in NJ, my friend Angela's mom would make a garlicky medley of Romano beans and potatoes with tons of garlic and oil in a big aluminum pan for parties. I would have heartburn for days, but it was oh so worth it.

It was nice to see Lidia Bastianich's recipe for Italian green beans & potatoes on Theresa's blog. It brought back good memories.

Well, Theresa brought me good luck, because that day I found a bunch of them at the Tuesday farmer's market!!!!

I had no choice but to make Italian green beans and potatoes!

I like this cold out of the fridge too, but don't tell anyone.

1.5 lbs. of Italian flat green beans, cleaned & cut on the bias
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed (or sliced)
8 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/3 cup of good olive oil
salt & pepper
splash of vinegar (optional)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, boil potatoes for 6 minutes.

In the same pot of boiling water, add your cut green beans and boil 6 minutes along with the potatoes.
Drain in a colander.



In a heavy skillet, heat some of the olive oil on medium heat and saute the garlic slices until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the beans and potatoes and saute another minute, adding more olive oil, salt & pepper.



Enjoy!

Here are some Random Bites from the week........

Paulie Gee and Adam Kuban from Serious Eats invited us to a SLICE event at a cool place in Hopewell, NJ called NOMAD pizza. Check out this SLICE article on Nomad.

They started out making their Neapolitan style pies in a traveling 1949 REO Speedwagon truck!
They have a permanent home now in Central, NJ. Check out their vegetable garden in the parking lot.
They use only fresh, local ingredients for their salads and pizzas.



A group of 25 pizza nuts dined on fontina, shitake mushroom & caramelized onion; prosciutto & arugula; pepperoni; sausage and margherita pies. Mexican Coke & Pepsi (no corn syrup, only real sugar used). It was fun to meet other pizza addicts and try this excellent New Jersey pie.

Thanks to Paulie and Adam for getting everyone together.