Roasted string beans (green beans) with shallots

From epicurious.com

Comments from site: shallots make the dish.  Consider adding garlic as well.  And some people said a capful of lemon juice. 

The beans shrink a lot.  Cooking time should be increased and some cooked the beans with oil and salt for 20 minutes first, then added the shallots and garlic for another 10-20 minutes.  Be careful not to burn the shallots.  Consider adding shiitake mushrooms.

Made it with a head of cauliflower and that was good as well.  Should start the cauliflower first because it takes time to caramelize. 

Made this several times for Thanksgiving with Futrans.  Can use a little less oil, and can roast for only 12 minutes or so.  

YIELDMakes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds string beans
2 large shallots cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Toss the beans and shallots with the oil and salt on a baking sheet. Roast, stirring twice during roasting, until the shallots have caramelized and the beans are beginning to brown and wilt, about 25 minutes. (Check after 10-12 minutes, especially if you like the beans al dente.). Sprinkle with pepper and serve hot.
Variation: Roasted Asparagus
Substitute asparagus and roast about 10 minutes.

Green beans (or peas) and cherry tomatoes with pesto

Seriously adapted from Amy Riolo :  The ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook  2015

I made so many changes in this, that it actually isn't the same recipe.  But I did start out looking at it, was missing key ingredients, but wanted my potatoes!  I'm not sure about the health benefits of pine nuts, and tend to buy them for one recipe, then toss the rest months or years later when they taste stale.  So I substituted walnuts and sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts.  I didn't have any string beans, so I used peas, which I prefer anyway.  Love the idea of a vegetable that supplies protein!

Oh, and I also changed parmigiana-reggiano cheese to nutritional yeast to keep it vegan.

The dish looks much prettier immediately after composing it, but as with most dishes, tastes better the next day.

So here's my very own version:

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds baby yellow potatoes or Yukon gold, washed and cut into 1" chunks
1 pound peas (or green beans cut in half on the diagonal)
1.5 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup walnuts
1 Tbsp sunflower seeds
1 clove garlic
3 cups lightly packed basil leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, unfiltered if possible
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
~1/4 tsp salt
~1/8 freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
1)  Steam potatoes over a pot of boiling water for ~ 8-10 minutes.  Add the green vegetable and continue to steam for ~4 minutes.  Check potato texture to make sure they're ready.  Drain and immediately plunge into an ice bath if possible to cool.

2) Make the pesto by combining the nuts, garlic, basil, and olive oil in a food processor.  Process until a smooth paste forms.  Using a spatula scoop pesto out of the processor and into a bowl.  Add the nutritional yeast.

3)Transfer the steamed vegetables to a large serving bowl and add the cherry tomatoes.  Add the pesto to coat evenly.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Thanksgiving recipes 2018

Had a great feast with wonderful leftovers.  Major help from Maria who brought the turkey and a great cranberry sauce, and Julia who brought pumpkin and corn chowder and pumpkin cranberry muffins - which made great breakfast muffins.  Aside from the turkey, everything was vegetarian and lactose free.

The rest of the menu was:

Bootcamp chef site:

Smashed mint pea dip served with pita chips
Pumpkin crunch nut mix (from Nourish)

Onceuponachef.com:

Challah stuffing - will try to cut the challah into smaller pieces next time; was fine freezing it and defrosting it for 24 hours before the meal, as mentioned on the website.  Tasted better day by day.
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/challah-wild-mushroom-herb-stuffing.html

String beans and shallots - need to get the salt and pepper right
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/french-string-beans-with-shallots.html

Consider instead: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/roasted-green-beans-with-cranberries-and-walnuts.html

OR: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/roasted-green-beans-with-garlic-lemon-pine-nuts-parmesan.html

Mashed sweet potatoes - in order to keep it dairy free, used 1/2 plain soy and 1/2 vanilla soy instead of the milk.  Only had sage instead of thyme, but probably either would be good.  Used only 1/2 the amount of maple, then added in some more to taste.
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/mashed-sweet-potatoes-maple-thyme.html

Pumpkin torte with streusel topping - very good and improved day by day.
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/pumpkin-streusel-torte.html
OR consider https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/bourbon-brown-butter-pecan-pie.html

Chick pea and carrot salad - good citrusy taste
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/moroccan-carrot-chickpea-salad-citrus-mint-almonds.html


Epicurious.com:

Cauliflower cake - can use more nigella seeds; taste of them is not so strong after they're cooked.  It's sort of like a quiche and tastes good cold the next morning!
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes-menus/vegetarian-appetizers-starters-soups-salads-tofu-entrees-main-dishes-recipes-meat-free-package

Dessert was the pumpkin torte, chocolate granita from The Perfect Scoop, and grapes.  I intended to make pumpkin ice cream, but ran out of time.- recipe from magazine Forks over Knives - will post on Bootcamp chef.