I just made this dish, substituted asparagus instead of green beans, fresh dates instead of raisins (that’s all I had)…it turned out great! Thanks so much, I hope to make this one again, maybe with the beans, or the other substitutes many have mentioned.

made this last weekend with red wine, dark raisins and sourcream. It was outstanding!!

I made this tonight with what I had on hand (a little beer in place of white wine, 0% fat yogurt in place of creme fraiche, and dried cherries in place of golden raisins)- it was divine!

Feisty Green Beans – nice dish, I like anything that is made of beans, beans is good heart, anti aging and contains lots of fiber

As a new food blogger, I feel inspired looking at your awesome repertoire…keep the recipes coming!!

Oh my…..these are the BEST green beans I have ever had. I had to make few substitutions only because when I saw this come thru on email I had to make it NOW and had to make do with what I had. I didn’t have coriander so made a quick sub with sage and lemon zest. I didn’t have tofu so I did without. I added a little extra wine just because I love wine and used greek 0% fat yogurt instead of creme fraiche and it turned out great. LOVE the fire. Thanks so much for sharing – this is a keeper!

Heidi, thank you for sharing this recipe. I just made it and it is delicious. To those who fear the list off ingredients – it’s mostly spices. The cooking part is pretty quick and easy. I love being able to use my spices. I had all the spices but grabbed the wrong bottom, chili powder instead of chili flakes; yet it was still very good. After the tofu and green beans went into my cast iron skillet, it was so full that I decided to leave out the dried cranberries that I was going to use instead of the raisins.

Thank you for sharing this recipe. Can’t wait to find some fresh green beans and try it out. But what was so inspiring for me is the fact that I’ve got tofu and frozen thai green beans – both of which need to be used up, and SOON – I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with either….now I know!

Reporting back, I made this last week and it was great both straight out of the pan and cold the next day for lunch. Perhaps this would make a good base for a pot pie with a few other curried vegetables…

I love a good green beans! This sounds tasty – and so comforting!

I tried this tonight with some hacks, but it was great! I used diced potato, grilled chicken, and peas – really great. I will make this again.

I made this last night and the result was a standout! Feisty green beans are going to be added to my regular rotation. Truly wonderful.

I’ve just prepared this dish and was pleased with the seasoning and combination of textures. My single reservation is with the cooking time for the green beans. That minute leaves them undercooked for my taste. They’re just this side of raw. I’ll be tinkering with the recipe as usual.

I like green beans, thanks for the idea

Made this tonight with cauliflower. A giant head so skipped the tofu and cooked it longer, adding a little more liquid because I hadn’t precooked enough. Delicious. Will definitely make this again. Thank you.

I made this dish and my husband and I both loved it! As you recommended, I used cauliflower instead of green beans and then I veganized it using Earth Balance instead of butter and coconut milk instead of creme fraiche. I can vouch that it was perfect this way, for anyone else who was wondering. This will become a standard part of my weeknight repertoire.
This is my first “comment” on this site but I’ve been following it for months – thank you for all the inspiration!

I made this last night with cauliflower instead of the green beans and dried cranberries instead of raisins, but everything else the same-simply fabulous. Even though there were lots of ingredients, I too, had everything on hand and it really is quite simple to prepare. I have the left overs with me for lunch.

I made this over the weekend and just had it for lunch then – fantastic!!!! such a great combination of ingredients.

We did this with broccoli, a big hit! Thanks!

I had leftover rapinii and used that instead – and served with brown rice – yumalicious! Thanks for the recipe, Anna and Heidi!

This one looks more than worth a try! Thank you….

Creme Fraiche is easy to make.
1 cup whipping cream
2 table spoons buttermilk
Combine in a glass jar or bowl and cover. Let sit in room temp about 70 degrees F for 8-24 hours. Stir and refrigerate. Voila.

Hi Heidi – I loved this recipe. I made it once as per your excellent instructions and a second time I tweaked it a bit to suit myself (a bit more chili, used greek yoghurt instead of sour cream, added a squeeze of lemon juice at the end). It’s a great way of making beans into a more substantial side or dish. The leftovers were great the following day – I sauteed some boiled Dutch Cream potato (cut into small chunks) and some rainbow chard straight from the garden, then added the leftover beans to heat through, and ended up with a really satisfying lunch bowl. And you’re right – it really doesn’t take long to make despite the mile long ingredient list. Thanks so much!

Beautiful blog! I’m trying this tonight with Chinese long beans and extra red pepper. And a tablespoon of lemon juice at the end? I think so…

oh i love this recipe… and i love that you said asparagus season isn’t far off. i can’t wait.

i loved green beans, thanks for the idea, i can’ t wait to try it at mya kitchen

Wow! I had left overs and it was even tastier the next day. The raisins were a great compliment to the spices.

I love these beans! I ommited the raisins because I’m not a fan and the coriander, but it still turned out delicious. They were even better cold the next day.

Hi: This is my first visit to your blog. Woohoo I am thrilled to have found it via the Bloggies award nominations. These beans look so good in the pan. How can we not make it ourselves?
I’ll be back again,
Candylei

I had made some parmesan-peppercorn rolls, and was having a quick solo-dinner. So, thought I’d put a veggie burger on one. Then I started thinking about this recipe! I try to buy veggies in-season, but some nice looking string beans had been on the $1 cart at a local produce shop, so I had them in the fridge…
WONDERFUL! Made a quick, un-measured version with almost all the ingredients. (skipped the bay leaves, used pre-carmelized onions, mission figlets instead of raisins, and thought coriander and curry didn’t really work with parmesan cheese).
I look forward to making the full version, but the leftovers have already been stuffed inside another roll to throw in the briefcase for tomorrow!

LOVE this, Heidi; thx! May sound weird but I tried it with red lentils instead of a fresh veg.- prepped them by nuking 5 min. in an equal amt of veg stock (your recently posted bouillon) and letting them stand another 5. Meanwhile I did the pan cooking of the other ingreds & then tossed in the lentils. Was al dente but creamy & yummy.

LOL WOW this is the best thing i have ever tasted

For the person asking about a low-fat sub for the creme-fraiche: I make my own fat free ‘greek’ yogurt that I use as a sub for sour cream., since we don’t seem to sell greek yogurt in my area.
Take a cup (or however much you want) of fat free yogurt, and put into a coffee filter that sits in a strainer over a bowl. Leave in fridge overnight. The next morning you have fat free greek yogurt. The longer you leave it the thicker it gets, even achieving cream cheese like consistency.
Hope this helps!

Green beans are something I don’t eat too often because a) my husband does not care for them and b) I never know how to make them tasty which is probably why he does not care for them. I like that these green beans are feisty! lol! I have all the ingredients on hand…except green beans!

After reviewing your “feisty green beans” recipe, I stopped into the grocery store, after work, and immediately embarked on creating this intriguing recipe. For a week-night, after many heavy rainy days in SF bay area, it was a bit more than I had energy for, but the result exceeding my expections. It had such a wonderful smokey/sweet flavor. I used a good portuguese grape white wine created by Vezer Family Winery of Suisine Valley. My question is: if I were making this for my vegan daughter, what would substitute for creme fraiche?

I made this last night after work with cauliflower and broccoli. Also used bits of apricot rather than raisins and served it with red quinoa. It was delicious (and very colorful)!

These look amazing Heidi! And I’m so excited for your new book. I absolutely LOVE your first one!

This recipe doesnt “sound” or “look” great, it TASTES really fantastic. I made it with brussel sprouts and I cant wait to try it with fresh beans from the garden, even though I will have to wait another six months or so. Thank you Heidi, for all the great recipes, I tried out a lot of them. The bouillon from you last mail is super!

just one pound of green beens to feed 4 to 6 people? hmmm

This really does look insanely good. I love green beans and how incredibly versatile they are. I would never have thought to mix them up like that with tofu–deliciousness.

AWESOME! I used cauliflower. I roasted a bunch for about 20 minutes. I don’t have hot paprika, so just used paprika and I used Sunmaid “Fruit Bits” which had golden raisins in it, but also apple and other fruits and sour cream. YUMMO! To borrow a phrase. For all the ingredients, it really isn’t a big deal to put together.

looks goood, I always cook green beans with potatos and tomatos, very good

Looks heavenly. And oh, how I wish it were green bean season! Lately I’ve been really cutting back on the tofu but as with everything I think moderation is key.

I’m looking forward to trying the feisty green beans this summer when I’ve got green beans coming out my ears. I think this would be good as cold leftovers to go with some meat on the grill!

On PayDay I shall be cooking this! I have only six of the ingredients! I have two favorite parts to this recipe, one is the cilantro which I am addicted to and would probably buy anything from cilantro toothpaste, to cilantro cereal if it existed! Two I love how you put the measurements in all possible units!!!!

can someone make this for me? Sounds good but they don’t even have crème fraîche aroudn these parts.

i stumbled across your website last week and i have not been able to stay off of it! i bet i have read nearly every recipe and tried several with wonderful results. i love how beautifully rustic your recipes are- especially the baked goods- so simple, refreshingly so.
i was so excited when i saw this recipe- my husband has been wanting to put much more greens in our diet so i thought i’d give it a try.
i didn’t have everything on hand- i substituted dried cherries for raisins and chicken stock for white wine but it turned out wonderfully and my husband said they were the best green beans he’s ever had! you’ve made me look so good this last week and a half!!
thanks so much!!
can’t wait to see what else you’ve got up your sleeve!!

Heidi, thanks for the great blog on Easy Green Organic. So happy you are enjoying the book.
Can’t wait to try your version of the beans.. Everyone else please go to Amazon.com and pre-order the book. Enjoy. I loved writing the book.

I love green beans and will try this recipe out. I like the idea of using Tofu with the other spices. Sort of East meets West idea to this dish. Thanks.

Have been infatuated with crushed coriander on roasted veggies lately. It all sounds great, but is there a low-fat substitute for the creme fraiche?

I had a bunch of green and yellow beans so I chopped up both. This was so scrumptious; I’m glad my husband recently requested an “exotic vegetable recipe” so I have an excuse to make this again over the weekend. I knew you wouldn’t disappoint, Heidi. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I’m intrigued! I don’t think I have ever seen string beans cut so small. I’ll have to experiment. 🙂
Jenn

Love this recipe. Can’t wait to give it a try. Looks yummy!

You have provided such thoughtful insight on each and every dish – also love the substitute of ingredients when necessary – such as the cauliflower instead of green beans. I have taken the miso soup recipe that you posted a couple of weeks ago, and have added – as suggested. I look forward to each of your recipes and writing. Thanks ever much!

For those who live where green beans aren’t in season: don’t forget the frozen ones! They’re generally very high quality, very affordable, and very easy to find, even organic ones. And – compared to the fresh ones that have been trucked thousands of miles – they’re actually more nutritious.

This is a new dish. I never thought of combining green beans, raisins and almonds! Quite intriguing.

it may not be green bean season where you are but in Auckland new zealand, I have them coming out my ears, as I added borage to my plot this year and the bees have been busy, I have given so many beans away and they are still producing so now I have a lovely recipe to try.

Heidi, you need to re-title this recipe “All Kinds of Yummy Awesomeness”!! 🙂 Green beans and green pepper are literally the only two vegetables I don’t count as friends so I made this instead with cauliflower and it is just unbelievably amazing. Given the butter and creme fraiche this is going to have to go into my ‘Special Treats’ file but after a long tough day I fully earned this tonight!
A note: I did not have any coriander or white wine left (shocking! 😉 so I splashed in a couple of tablespoons of good white wine vinegar and everything came out Ok. This is what my Yummy Awesomeness looked like:
http://twitpic.com/zybd3
Thanks again for sharing Heidi–this is a definite winner!

I made this tonight sans tofu to make it less of an entree. I used a Riesling as the wine and chopped almonds instead of sliced. It is delicious. See the photo in the link…

I look at recipes and I know if they are good or not. This is a good one, and the numerous ingredients don’t intimidate. I”m always looking for more ways to make vegetables “the meal.” The raisins caught my eye, so I’m in.

I absolutely adore your blog, especially for food like this. In part thanks to this, and my own (cruddy) self motivation I’ve become ‘The guy that makes everything himself’.

Just made this with green peas. Wonderful!!

Nice blend of flavors. I never thought making a green bean dish like this one but you just opened up my eyes to other possibilities.

Since I work a lot with beans, one variation that always brings the smiles on:
forget the dry spices totally.
keep everything else AS IS. Blanch, olive oil, almonds, cranberries or raisins… all that.
But… for the spicing up do this:
grind together in a blender: one tablespoon of greek yoghurt or yoghurt cheese, 4 tablespoons of cilantro, 10 leaves of mint, 2 green chillies, one teaspoon grated ginger, and half a lime (juice, pls)
I will also add: 1/3 tsp sugar, as it always enhances the lime, takes off the edge and presents the lemony-ness gloriously.
Keep everything else as is. Only, no need to cook all this once you have blanched it right… use this as a dressing, toss the beans in this, add the salt, and then the nuts and raisins…

Wow, your pictures are just stunning. Thanks!

Sounds great! Does anyone have suggestions as a substitute to the creme fraiche or sour cream? I recently had to omit dairy from my diet but have no idea how or what to substitute. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Sounds wonderful, except for the tofu. Ugh! ugh! ugh! I think the mushrooms would substitute nicely — perhaps a variety cooked separately and added at the end.
Thanks for your inspiration.

Aww man, I promised myself to cook from my cookbooks, and here you go posting more recipes I want to make.

This is such a hearty and flavorful looking dish. I definitely want to try this with brussels sprouts.

How I wish more vegetables were in season here in Maine….. I guess I’ll have to wait a few months to make this.

I am going to try this recipe at work for a potluck Cabin Fever Luncheon we are having in February. It sounds really delicious with the golden raisins and the toasted, slivered almonds. Is there a substitute for the white wine I could use? Any suggestions?

string beans are such a versatile vegetable. there are so many ways to dress them up, but they are also just as good, plane and simple with a bit o’ lemon. Although I am not crazy about tofu, the spices and creme fraiche are an intriguing combination.

Personally, I love the “extra version olive oil” phrase and hope it is the start of a new trend.
The “extra virgin” has always been a puzzle in common language, since it’s impossible: you’re either virgin or you’re not — you can’t be extra!
If version is used (as suggested in context here in the recipe), there can be an “extra” version (perhaps even an “extra extra”), and there can be “regular” versions, “lite” versions, and so on, all with the word version. Virgin (especially when coupled with “extra”) should be retired in preference to version (as in your recipe). The word “version” is additionally free of ideas that are hard to explain to children and is therefore “better”. However, I’ll bet “version” turns out to be a mistake (alas!).
This recipe combines some really fine flavors and I look forward to trying it! I like that it can be used with other main vegetables too.
HS: Wow. That is an impressive typo, even for me. Got a chuckle out of your note 🙂

Heidi, The gloriousness of this recipe has inspired me to write and thank you for the joy of your inspirations. Blessings.

This not only sounds like an excellent green bean recipe, but I like your idea of using it as a “surround” for other vegetables.

I have an abundance of snow peas growing in my yard, I think I’ll try this with those. Sounds great!

love the flavor combinations going on here..One question, can I substitute white wine with white wine vinegar? only reason is that I have everything else from the ingredient list except white wine..I believe I would have to reduce the quantity to may be couple tablespoons?
HS: Hi Gayatri, just leave out the white wine, follow the directions aside from that, and make tweaks to adjust the flavor toward the end until it is to your liking.

And I have some asparagus in my fridge waiting to be used. Thanks for the inspiration.

Ah, it seems I’ve been putting dried fruit, nuts and spices in everything lately…can’t seem to get enough of it. This gives me one more excuse, looks amazing and I love, love, love one dish one pan meals. Thanks!

So, what was the seventeenth ingredient? 😉 HS: The green beans 🙂

Wow, looks so good. I love the idea of paneer cubes – might have to try that!

Made a vegan version using coconut milk instead of creme fraiche and no butter at the end. Uber yummy. Many thanks! Jenna

Heidi, this looks amazing. I love the idea of green beans with golden raisins and spices! Have a great afternoon.

*Instant drool* I am addicted to vegetables and these look SO delicious!
-Katie

Heidi, this looks terrific, It’s runner bean season here in NZ and typically everyone grows more than they can consume so a new recipe is very welcome. Normally I go glassy eyed when there is so many ingredients but most are on hand. Am making it tonight. Thanks

Hi Heidi, Hope your day is filled with sunshine. I had 16 of the 17 ingredients too. No tofu. I don’t use it. Looks like a yummy recipe and I will add nuts in place of the tofu. Thanks for sharing once again. God bless.

Heidi your version reads like perfection. As for Tom’s lazy version, I’ll be leaving out about 6 ingredients, yet I still think it will be a dreamy green bean dish–thanks!
For any home gardeners, I recommend growing Fortex, an exceptionally flavored and prolific green bean (pole bean).

Looks great – nice to have a different option than my favourite spicy green bean recipe from Cooks Illustrated. Do you think with this spice combination, the recipe would be best vegan-ized with soy yogurt or with coconut milk/cream?

Yum! Do you think substituting the creme fresh / sour cream with tahini and lemon juice would make a good vegan substitute?
Thanks!
Anna

Sounds awesome…but where does one find extra “version” olive oil these days? 😉

I love the little ‘O’ shaped bean slices. What a great idea to get the sauce inside as they cook. The whole recipe sounds lovely.

very great recipe for those of us getting ready to grow some beans in our gardens this spring. Just getting ready to plant some seeds for the veggie bed today, so keep the recipes coming so I know what to do with them once they get out of the ground!

Wow. This is a really exciting-looking recipe… in the season, we grow and cook a lot of green beans, prepared really simply. I think this would be a fun game-change… It’s almost hard to imagine what it would taste like, so it’s going on my list.

Wow. This is a really exciting-looking recipe… in the season, we grow and cook a lot of green beans, prepared really simply. I think this would be a fun game-change… It’s almost hard to imagine what it would taste like, so it’s going on my list.

Thanks for this one Heidi. This is a great bean recipe particularly for those of us who like to cheat a bit and not follow the recipe exactly. I can see adapting this to a winter veggie recipe. I can get pretty decent green beans almost year round at my local Boston Supermarket only 5 minutes from my house.

Thanks so much for this recipe! I saw it in my feeds at just the right time, when I was starting to think about what to make for lunch, so I did a broccoli version of it, with some changes to make it dairy-free, and with the addition of mushrooms. I absolutely love curry. Thanks!

This recipe looks so good! especially using the cauliflower. also love that you are using lots of ingredients! playing the piano with all the keys, as it were? love your blog. best from Montecito, California where it is still raining?

This looks so good. I am going to give it a go with sea moss thickened coconut milk and coconut oil to keep it dairy free.

This looks so good. I am going to give it a go with sea moss thickened coconut milk and coconut oil to keep it dairy free.

I LOVE this! I have everything but the golden raisins, but might throw in some dried cranberries for a pop of color instead just so I can have these ASAP.
And I love that they’re “feisty” legumes! 🙂

Looks like a great recipe – but when I make it for my grandchildren I’ll use toasted pine-nuts instead of the almonds…

This does look good.

Very interesting recipe…. I normally keep the green beans very simple, but I’m tempted to give this a try, since you loved it
I just wonder if skipping the blanching would affect it too much – when I cut the green beans very thinly in the food processor, they cook so fast, it might work well adding straight to the saute pan

YUM! I have everything on except the beans! Off to the grocery store. I’ll bet this would be awesome with cauliflower too. I’ll add some leftover roast chicken instead of tofu, but I bet it would be terrific with salmon as well.

Long list of ingredients didn’t use to scare me, but I’ve been in Italy for a while now, were everything is so deliciously simple, that I was shocked when I read the recipe.

Other than the white wine and the creme fraiche this sounds very much like a traditional south Indian way of preparing green beans. My mom would add a bit of shredded fresh coconut to the mix.

This is great. I usually just cook green beans in oil and garlic!

I have some lovely little lambchops that will be so good when they’re pepper pan seared and lying in a nest of these beans! Thank you !

Oh this sounds amazing with all those seasonings!

This looks like the kind of recipe that might cleverly disguise the green beans…that my husband hates. It’s not easy being a vegan who hates green beans. I’m trying to help him out!

I’m always on the look-out for new veggie side dishes, and this one looks fantastic. I love your idea of making the dish with cauliflower, as it goes deliciously well with golden raisins. I look forward to trying out your version!

Wow, that is a long ingredient list for green beans but they sound and look delicious!

Yum, lovely beans! I can’t wait for them to come into season here.

Oh how I am dreaming of summer and sweet green beans from the garden. Mmmm. Sadly the poles are knee-deep in snow. All I have now are frozen beans and packets of seed! But this book looks like it belongs in the cart – without a doubt…

Good thing I have some leftover to eat after reading this recipe! Will need to try definitely as I LOVE green beans. 🙂 I might try with broccoli as I’m addicted to it. Wonder if I could sub the sour cream with smth else? Like coconut milk maybe. (Haven’t been able to find a place from where I can source organic dairy stuffs produced from an ethical dairy farm around here in Melbourne)

Wow! This sounds amazing. I love the combination of spices and the creamy additions. And who says that vegetable dishes can’t be tasty and interesting?

Me too! I have everything on the ingredient list except green beans and crème fraîche. I always get excited when I get to use my spices. Thanks for the advice. 🙂

That is one mighty long ingredient list…but I totally trust you on this one. I love that you recommend making this with whatever vegetables are in season.
ps: I’m especially fond of the crème fraîche and toasted almonds in the ingredient list. yum 🙂

I have a recipe that is very similar for fiddlehead ferns but I have used it(with variation) for everything from asparagus to okra. Greek yogurt works for the sour cream or creme fraiche and as long as the cumin, curry, garlic and paprika are there you are good. The contrasting sweet of raisins, dates, or apricots is key. I don’t even bother to blanch the vegetables as I think they get enough heat in the rest of the recipe. This is a fine way to add some variety to veges.

I was just wondering what I should do with the cauliflower in my fridge…I love all the flavors going on here so I’m going to try this!

This recipe sounds quite intriguing. There are quite a few ingredients in this recipe, but most of them are items I typically have in the refrigerator, so it’s strikes me as an easy dish for any night. I love all of the spices in this recipe!

The thought that asparagus season is not too far off really makes my heart sing! I actually think this would work beautifully with cauliflower in lieu of beans; red grapes instead of raisins and parsley in place of cilantro–sort of an Italian take.