Green Beans

I bought my wife Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking for her birthday. It was a great investment. Everything she has made from there has been absolutely splendid.

Haricots Verts à la Maître d’ Hôtel – Buttered Green Beans with lemon juice and parsley

Recipe from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Serves 6-8

3 lbs. hot, blanched green beans

A wide, heavy bottomed, enameled sauce pan or skillet

Salt and Pepper

6-8 T softened butter cut into 4 pieces

2-3 tsp. lemon juice

3 T minced parsley


Snap the tip ends of the beans and remove the strings. Wash in very hot water immediately before cooking. Blanch in a large kettle of rapidly boiling, salted water (1 ½ tsp. per quart of water.) Boil them until almost tender and drain immediately. Turn them into the skillet or pan and heat them 2-3 minutes over medium hot heat to evaporate their moisture. Do not stir them, flip the pan. Toss briefly again with the salt, pepper and a piece of the butter. Add the rest of the butter, alternating with a few drops of lemon juice. Taste for seasoning. Turn into the vegetable dish, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

* If you wish to blanche the beans ahead of time, run cold water over the beans for 3-4 minutes after draining.