Green Beans with Spring Onion Almond Pesto

This was one of those recipes that came together purely on accident, when dinner was almost finished, but I decided that the side dish needed just a little more oomph. In this case, the side was steamed green beans. And this recipe provided excellent ooph. This pesto whips together very quickly and is very flexible. Feel like more garlic and less green onion? Go for it. Want less crunch? Leave out some almonds. You can add more or less olive oil, change the type of oil, substitute broth--seriously, go nuts. No pun intended. Or was it?!

I recommend making this in either a food processor, or what I used, a 4 cup capacity "food chopper" (read: compact food processor). I like my Cuisinart 4 cup food chopper, but I'll write more about that awesome little tool later in some other post. A blender would probably work, too, in a pinch, but I have had issues with uneven processing when using a blender to make any kind of pesto. Unless you have a Vitamix, in which case you are awesome and I'm totally jealous.

Anyway, getting down to business....

Green Beans with Spring Onion Almond Pesto
Makes about 3/4 cup of pesto for 1 pound of green beans


3 green onions, trimmed of the fangly rooty bits at the bottom, and cut into rough 1" chunks (it will process better this way)
2 cloves garlic, peeled (smaller cloves will produce a less "hot" garlic flavor)
1/3 cup whole almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons-1/4 cup olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
1 pound green beans, trimmed

Toss the garlic and green onions in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the garlic is chopped relatively evenly. Add the almonds, vinegar, and olive oil. Process again until the ingredients begin to come together to form a paste. I left my almonds somewhat coarse, rather than smooth, to preserve the lovely crunch of almonds, but if you like a smoother texture, continue processing until it reaches your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a steaming apparatus (I use a bamboo steamer with lid over a pot of boiling water), steam the green beans until they are easily pierced by a fork, but haven't lost all of their crunch. Time will vary based on your green beans (and probably your altitude, or whatever). In a large bowl, toss the hot green beans with a few tablespoons of the pesto. Add more pesto until it reaches the flavor and texture that you like best. It may take quite a bit of tossing to coat all of the beans with the nutty, herby mix. But it's so worth it. Enjoy!