We had our friend Cassie from Eugene and our friends Lyndie, John, and Sophia (happy 1st birthday, Sophia!) from Portland over for dinner a couple of weeks ago and tasked Lyndie with a very general ‘bring something green’ request, which we can do with Lyndie because she’s a fabulous cook and has superior taste. 
Not one to dissapoint, she arrived with about 3 pounds of fresh Green Beans. We brainstormed some ideas on how to prepare them and zeroed in on a quick sauté with some crispy little bits of pancetta. After a quick trip to the Roth’s by our house we were all set with about 4 ounces of lovely, round Pancetta slices.
We had some leftover Roasted Hazlenuts from a meal a week or so earlier which we kind of threw in as an afterthought, but which added a nice, warm, earthy flavor that was great with the Beans. And they added a little extra crunch. You could omit them if you wanted to and it wouldn’t be too detrimental to the dish.
- 3 lbs fresh Green Beans, washed and curly ends trimmed
- 4 ozs Pancetta slices, chopped (you could use some good quality regular bacon, too)
- 2-3 Tbsp chopped Hazlenuts
Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl (or your sink) and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the Green Beans for just a couple minutes, scoop them out with tongs or a slotted spoon, and plungevthem into the ice bath. This ’shocks’ them which stops the cooking process and locks on that bright green color.
In a large skillet over medium heat sauté the Pancetta until crispy. Add the Green Beans and toss them all around until they’re hot through and covered with Pancetta goodness. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Dump it all on a big platter (if you’re feeling fancy) or just plate them and top it all with the Hazlenuts.
Enjoy!
These green beans were delicious! I could have just ate a bowl full for dinner and been happy! Thanks for the palette compliment =)