Green Beans Amandine

Often anglicized as “green beans almondine,” this classic French side dish is a perennial crowd-pleaser. It’s made with haricots verts, a variety of French green beans with a longer, thinner shape than typical American string beans. Some cooks add minced garlic and shallots to the sauce, or season the finished dish with black pepper or a splash of olive oil, but the traditional green beans amandine recipe has just five ingredients.

To start, blanch fresh green beans in boiling water and then move them to an ice bath. This fussy-seeming extra step keeps them bright green and perfectly crisp-tender. Almonds give this dish its name and infuse the sauce with nutty richness; we like sliced almonds here since their skins enhance the flavors, but you can use skinless slivered almonds if you prefer. You’ll cook them with the butter until the butter begins to brown and the nuts have a fantastic, toasty aroma. To reheat the blanched green beans, sauté them in the buttery, golden brown sauce. Use tongs to transfer them to a plate or platter and spoon the toasted almond–butter sauce over everything.