Ina Garten’s Easy Side Dish I Make Every Thanksgiving

You only need six ingredients to make these, but they taste gourmet.

It all started just as I finished wrapping homemade pumpkin whoopie pies and put a casserole loaded with mac and cheese in the fridge for Friendsgiving the next day. “No one signed up for a healthy vegetable,” my friend texted me panicked. “Can you bring one?” My thumbs tapped, “Yes!” but my heart said to me: “Blerg, I can bring the only dish that no one will touch.”

I half-heartedly searched for “Thanksgiving is Easy SOS” and the internet gave me Ina Garten’s Green Bean Gremolata. I had no idea what gremolata was, but I love everything Ina. Plus, her recipe only had seven ingredients, including French green beans with cute little tails on the ends. Very chic.

The next morning I did a quick errand for my last minute phoned in side dish. (“Store-bought is good,” I repeated to myself.) I ran home, prepared everything, and promptly dropped my jaw to the floor at the first taste. (Gasp!) These green beans are seriously awesome.

Why I love Ina Garten’s Green Bean Gremolata

I’m not going to lie to you and say that everyone goes to Thanksgiving saying, “Yeah! Green beans! Let’s go! ”, but Ina’s recipe kills with a capital S. You can make it in 20 minutes in your pajamas, and it will have everyone from Great Aunt Peggy to your picky niece coming back for more.

It smells like gastronomy and it tastes too. The sweet citrus of lemon zest, warm pine nuts and freshly chopped herbaceous herbs says: “I quietly made this while sunning myself on the Amalfi Coast, where I came across a field of wild flat-leaf parsley . and a lemon orchard. Never mind the rich, tangy parmesan that covers every grain like confetti in a parade.

This is the dish everyone will be asking for next year…and the year after that. (The invitation for the creamy green bean casserole must have gotten lost in the mail.)

How to make Ina’s green bean gremolata

I’m always relieved that Ina designs indulgent recipes for fans cooking at home. This is key for anyone like me who reads the whole recipe but still risks missing a step. Here are some tips I’ve learned after making this recipe several times.

While you wait for the green bean water to boil, toast the pine nuts and don’t look away from the pan. As a survivor of burnt pine nuts, I tell you they turn brown so quickly that even daydreaming is risky. Listen to the oils in the nuts sizzling and shake them frequently in the pan.

About 90% of the time I made this, I got too excited and accidentally added olive oil to the gremolata when it was really meant for the sauté pan. Luckily, a light spray of cooking spray for the pan (and then tossing the beans with the olive oil gremolata off the heat) works just as well.

All that’s left to do is enjoy some refreshing, lemony sunshine on your Thanksgiving table, where green beans taste just as comforting as any other item on the menu.

Get the recipe with the title: Green Bean Gremolata Recipe from Ina Garten