What is the best way to cook runner beans?
There a few different ways of preparing runner beans: boiled, steamed, or stir-fried. The best way is to simply boil them and then stir through a little butter. This creates a great accompaniment to any meal. Bring a small pan of salted water to a boil. Add the prepared beans and cook until tender, this should take about 5-8 mins. Drain.
How long do you boil beans to cook them?
Bring a small pan of salted water to a boil. Add the prepared beans and cook until tender, this should take about 5-8 mins. Drain. Stir through half a tablespoon of salted butter to serve.
How do you Blanch runner beans?
slice your beans an angle this gives you long beans and allows you to double check they are OK inside Pop your beans into the water ready to cook or blanch. Wash your runner beans under the tap to remove any dirt, debris and pesticides if you are not using organic beans.
How long do you cook beans in a wok?
Cook for 15-20 mins until knife tender. Heat a wok or large frying pan to high heat. Add one tablespoon of oil and any aromatics that you like, e.g. spring onions, ginger, garlic. Add the beans to the pan with a pinch of salt and fry for 3-5 mins until knife tender.
How to prepare runner beans
It is important to prepare runner beans properly to avoid them being stringy and gritty when cooked.
How to cook runner beans
There a few different ways of preparing runner beans: boiled, steamed, or stir-fried. The best way is to simply boil them and then stir through a little butter. This creates a great accompaniment to any meal.
How to store runner beans
It is important to store runner beans well so that they stay fresh for as long as possible.
How to freeze runner beans
Runner beans are seasonal and often tricky to get hold of out of season. So storing beans in the freezer is a great way to ensure that you have a supply all year round.
Our best runner bean recipes
If you’re unsure how to serve runner beans, we’ve got plenty of inspiration for you. We’ve rounded up some of our best runner bean recipes; tossed in salads, paired with lamb chops, or buttered with fish…
Greens with miso dressing
This is a delicious Asian inspired side dish. The dressing uses miso paste to boost the flavours of the greens. When out of season we recommend using frozen runner beans and peas. Or swap the runner beans for green beans.
Simple and delicious sausage bake
A sausage bake is always a hit. This is a popular recipe on the Good to Know website. It has over 200 reviews. The ingredients are relativity cheap, plus you bung it all in one dish, so you save on the washing up too!
How do you store runner beans?
After you’ve harvested them, runner beans will keep in the fridge for 5-7 days. Pop them in a sandwich bag in the salad drawer. Don’t wash the beans before storing as it can accelerate them spoiling.
How do you prepare runner beans?
Wash the runner beans in cold running water, then drain. Cut off the tough stalk. To save time, simply line up two to three beans on a board, and use a knife to cut through the tops of all of them in one motion.
How do you cut runner beans?
The best way to slice runner beans is on the diagonal, into 1-2cm width pieces. This gives decent size pieces that also look professionally prepped. Lay the bean flat, angle your knife, and slice diagonally. Whatever width you choose, make sure you’re consistent with it, so the beans cook evenly.
How do I cook runner beans?
The easiest way to cook runner beans is to bring a pan of water to the boil, then cook the beans in the water for 3-4min (larger, older beans will require longer cooking). Drain the beans and rinse under cold water to stop them over cooking and going mushy.
Can I freeze runner beans?
If you’ve got more beans than you know what to do with, you can freeze them.
What flavours go well with runner beans?
Creamy, citrus and nutty flavours work beautifully with the fresh zing of runner beans. Garlic and shallots are classic additions too. Cooked runner beans can be dressed with a vinaigrette, sprinkled with nuts or tumbled with crumbled goats cheese or ricotta and some lemon zest. We love them in this nutty, summery side dish.
The string of a runner bean
Because families tended to be so large, quite a number of beans were required for each meal and I suspect, therefore, that the beans were allowed to grow much larger than I recommend on the gadget page.
Removing the strings of runner beans
Every bean had to have its sides sliced off and discarded to remove the strings. This was not only labour intensive, it required some judgement as to how deeply to cut. Too deeply meant that some of the bean was wasted, but not deeply enough meant that the dreaded string remained.
Slicing the runner beans
Once the stringing was complete, the beans had to be sliced for cooking. This too had to be done by hand and with a sharp knife. The cuts were always made at an angle crossways so that any remaining string would, at least, be cut into short pieces.
