3-Ingredient Lemony Green Beans With Frizzled Leeks
3.4
(12)
Active Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour
In Epi's 3-Ingredient Recipes series, we show you how to make great food with just three ingredients (plus staples like oil, salt, and pepper).
Olive oil–fried leeks add crunch, flavor, and an impressive look to this classic Thanksgiving side.
Ingredients
8–10 servings
Preparation
Step 1
Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 5–7 minutes. Drain, then immediately transfer to a large bowl filled with ice water. Drain again and pat dry.
Step 2
Meanwhile, zest lemons to yield 1 Tbsp. zest. Juice lemons to yield ¼ cup juice, then slice any remaining lemons into wedges. Cut leeks crosswise into 4" sections, then thinly slice lengthwise into matchsticks.
Step 3
Heat oil in a large deep-sided skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Cook half of leeks, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels; season with salt. Repeat with remaining leeks; reserve oil in skillet.
Step 4
Cook green beans, pepper, lemon zest, and remaining 1 tsp. salt in reserved oil over medium heat, tossing occasionally, just until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and toss to coat, then transfer to a platter. Drizzle about ½ cup oil from pan over; reserve remaining oil for another use. Top with leeks and serve with lemon wedges alongside.
Do ahead: Green beans can be blanched 1 day ahead; let dry, then transfer to an airtight container and chill.
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Reviews (12)
Back to TopA lot of work without much payoff. It was difficult to get the leeks to the perfect golden brown, even working with smaller batches. I usually just steam for 3-5 mins and then fry for 2-3 mins with minced garlic and 1-2 Tbspn of olive oil. Easier and more bang for the buck.
rhianvt
Arlington, VA
11/23/2018
This was a fine recipe, but nothing special. It came together very quickly but definitely needed a little something else (garlic? toasted walnuts or almonds? crushed red peppers?) Re: a few points below: 1. The leeks are very easy to slice finely. I'm a decent home cook and I had no trouble. Go slowly and use a sharp knife. 2. The leeks turned golden brown and did not taste burnt at all. You just have to watch them and stir very often. 3. There is WAY too much oil in the recipe. I reserved probably only about a teaspoon or so for the beans and that was plenty
Anonymous
DC
11/18/2018
This is a wonderful recipe to use for a group because it can prepped up much earlier so you can just to reheat the beans... As other commenters noted, the julienne of the leaks must be thin so I did use a mandolin and I kept them very very thin using a very small amount of oil not nearly the amount that the recipe called for. I actually used only about 1/3 cup of a lighter oil (canola oil) to sauté the leeks in a wok so I could toss them easily and then pull them out and they looked just like the picture. In reheating the beans in a large pan and I also only used about about 1/4 cup of grape oil... they were delicious ...
Anonymous
BALTIMORE
11/18/2018
Not that interesting tasting of a dish given the amount of time involved.
tmbail
Milwaukee, WI
9/4/2017
I loved this recipe, even if it didn't look quite like the picture. I didn't cut the leeks thin enough, so they were only partially frizzled in the end. But still delicious! I used lemon-infused olive oil, and used the zest but no lemon juice so that the beans would retain their color. The beans and leeks were very tasty, and I would definitely make this again.
biciclista
Los Altos, CA
1/1/2017
Made a huge batch of these for the office party for the holidays. Was a hit! For flavor, I give this recipe a 4 fork, but getting the leeks cut to look like the photo above requires some serious knife/mandoline skills. Would have been great to have just even a sentence of advice on how to achieve such fine slices. The frying was done in a cast-iron skillet and worked really well. About 15-30 seconds in fry-temp oil. Internet videos helped somewhat, but I still love the recipe. Thanks Anna for making my wife and I look like chefs!
aguidi
Pleasanton, CA
12/31/2016
The frizzled leeks were great. I reheated the beans in 1/2 of the leftover oil, as I interpreted the recipe. It was too much--the beans got too soggy and well. . . oily. I'd reheat them with a touch of oil and mostly lemon if I made again.
Anonymous
Boston, MA
12/5/2016
I liked the recipe - I would make some changes for next time. Fry leeks in two smaller batches and they will get crispy. The lemon was overpowering - I would cut back next time. Also I would cook the beans on the stovetop versus frying - a bit too much oil for my taste.
sjoos1
Minneapolis, MN
11/29/2016
My leeks did not appear burnt and were a nice golden brown but they tasted burnt. Not a fan
tracy88
Los Angeles
11/28/2016
Loved it, especially the frizzled leeks. I used a wok to fry the leeks and a mandolin to cut them fine. Easy to make, elegant presentation and delicious.
jackesler
Toronto, ON
11/23/2016
Made this pretty much as written. Nice lighter take on the traditional green bean casserole. Instead of blanching the green beans, I just microwaved them for a few minutes. I think if I were going to make it again might just drag out the deep fryer for the leeks. I found it difficult to get them all uniformly crispy and not burnt following the directions.
Anonymous
Media, PA
11/8/2016
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