The Fruit You Should Be Using To Bring New Life To Green Beans

Green beans are one of those veggies that seem banal and underwhelming, but really have a ton of untapped potential. Prepared simply in a sauté pan with a little butter, salt, and pepper, green beans retain some of their raw astringence while taking on a deep, savory flavor only enhanced by the starchy seeds housed within the fibrous casing. Cooked properly, these tough little seeds take on a silky texture, while the outer pod becomes soft and tender.

Though delicious enough on their own, in this roasty state, green beans become the perfect foundation for strong, rich flavors — something you may already know if your favorite way to eat green beans is with a caramelized bacon sash. However, these humble legumes are also a delicious foil for the bright fruitiness of pomegranates, especially during the summer. While the soup-smothered casserole version rules the autumn, summer is made for sprinkling your green beans with a handful of sweet, tangy pomegranate arils.

This combination works because the tart fruitiness of the pomegranates blends beautifully with the roasty flavor of sautéed green beans while softening any remaining astringence into light sweetness. Plus, it's one of those wonderful low-investment, high-reward combinations, as all you have to do is scatter fresh, cold, pomegranate seeds over your green beans before serving them. This adds color to the dish, making it look fancy and inviting with a sophisticated flavor for very little effort. You can also add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses to ensure tangy richness in each bite.

If simply sprinkling pomegranate seeds onto your green beans is a little too simple for your personal tastes, there are plenty of ways to take this already elevated dish to the next level. The first, and most obvious, is to upgrade your garnishes. Crushed pistachios, slivered and toasted almonds, and crumbled feta offer both bold and nuanced flavor without overwhelming the stars of the dish. You can also dress your green beans in lemon-infused honey or a few tablespoons of reduced pomegranate juice to help the garnishes stick and make the dish more cohesive.

Green beans and pomegranates are the perfect match for a chilled dish as well, such as a green bean panzanella salad. Try tossing roasted or grilled green beans in sesame seeds before chilling, and toasting up some garlic naan as the bread element. Then, it's a simple matter of whisking together a pomegranate vinaigrette with some good olive oil, and just tossing everything together with more tangy seeds as well as some briny kalamata olives and sweet dried figs to round out the flavor while making the dish more filling. The addition of grilled chicken marinated in tzatziki sauce turns this into a light, delicious meal.

Pomegranate is also a fantastic way to instantly boost the flavor of canned green beans, which are notorious for their salty, metallic aftertaste. Rinsed and simmered in a little pomegranate-infused butter or olive oil, the tart sweetness of the fruit infuses this shelf-stable staple with freshness, reviving some of the beans' deliciousness.