Beans with basil and chives

6 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ pounds Fresh green beans
¼ cup Olive oil
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon Chopped chives
¼ cup Diced green pepper
¼ cup Diced red pepper
¼ cup Diced yellow pepper
½ cup Boiling water
1 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Fresh basil minced
½ cup Grated Paremesan cheese

Directions

For this dish, only use the freshest ingredients, and use only fresh herbs.

If fresh herbs are not available, it simply will not be the same. For a nice aesthetic touch, reserve a teaspoon of each color of diced pepper and a few pinches of chopped chives. Also save a sprig or two of the fresh basil (the centerpiece that looks like a flower of leaves would do nicely).

When the dish is placed in it's serving dish, sprinkle the peppers, and chives over the cheese and top with sprigs of basil.

********************************************************************* You may use ¾ cup diced green pepper instead of ¼ cup of each green, red and yellow, or any combination thereof if the yellow and/or the red are not available, but they add a touch of color and distinction to the dish. Take fresh young beans and remove stem and any strings (the young ones shouldn't have much of a string to worry about). Break them in half (or so the segments are a couple of inches long). Heat oil and garlic in a large frying pan (make sure it is large enough to hold all the beans). When the oil becomes hot, add the peppers and cook slowly for 3 minutes. Add the beans, water, salt, basil and chives and turn everything over until the herbs and peppers are well distributed over the beans. Cover and simmer until the beans have turned a bright green and are al'dente (tender but still crisp; which should take about 5 minutes). Mix in ¼ cup cheese and sprinkle ¼ cup on top. If you've reserved some of the diced peppers, chives and whole basil leaves, garnish the top of the dish with these.

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