Green Beans With Chorizo

• Servings: 4.

Whether you call them green beans or string beans, most of us love them.  The best are found in-season at the farmer's market but tender and thin haricots verts are easy to find year-round.  All green beans are quick to cook, and because they have a mild flavor they can be just tossed with a bit of salted butter or a light drizzle of olive oil and served with almost anything.  But sometimes green beans can seem, well, plain.

To add flavor and texture to a simply cooked green bean, this recipe uses thin slices of Spanish chorizo that have been cooked until the surface crisps and the paprika-tinged fat of these cured sausages begins to render.

Unlike Mexican chorizo which is raw pork, Spanish chorizo is already cooked so all you have to do is cut 1/4-inch slices and slowly sauté them in a skillet until oily and crisp.  The green beans are cooked separately and then the two are tossed together in a serving dish.

A good brand of Spanish chorizo is by Palacios.  They make a hot version -- caliente; the regular version is less heated but still has lots of flavor and personality.  Choose your pleasure.

Ingredients

• 1 pound green beans or haricots verts, trimmed and left whole
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 oz. Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4-inch slices (you can use more if you like)

Directions

1. Cook the green beans in salted boiling water until tender. Drain completely. If you prefer, you can steam or microwave the beans. (This step can be done up to an hour in advance with the beans left at room temperature.)
2. Place the slices of chorizo in a large sauté pan or pot and cook over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the edges get brown and crispy and the chorizo begins to render its paprika-seasoned fat (the paprika will make the fat a red color). Drain off all but about 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat.
3. Add the drained beans to the chorizo and toss to combine. If the beans were cooked earlier and have come to room temperature, keep the pan on the heat for a few more minutes until the beans have again become hot.
4. Serve immediately.