1 ½ pounds fresh haricot verts or regular green beans
1 cup water
3 strips center cut bacon
¼ cup shallots, chopped finely.
Wash the beans, cut off the stem of each bean and place in sauté pan with the water. Bring to a boil, cover; simmer on low heat for 4-5 minutes. With fork, check beans, they should be crispy-tender. If using regular green beans, increase cooking time by 2-3 minutes. Empty beans into colander in sink and rinse with cold water briefly to stop the cooking. This is called blanching. Drain well.
In a large frying pan, fry the bacon until crispy on medium heat. Remove bacon and all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and add shallots to the pan, stirring until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Chop bacon strips into small pieces and add the bacon and green beans to the shallots and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until beans are well-coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
TIP: A Haricot Vert is a French baby green bean. They are deliciously delicate. If you cannot find these, regular green beans will stand in very well. You may blanch the beans the day before and keep in fridge in airtight container until ready to stir-fry. Make sure the beans are well-drained before adding to the hot bacon mixture. Shallots are a member of the onion family and can be found in the produce section by the onions & garlic.
