I made this for the first time this past Thanksgiving. I got the idea from my friend Jody, who told me that she had the most delicious green beans at a friend’s house that were roasted with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper. So I did what I have done before with other vegetables, tossing green beans with my trusty extra virgin olive oil, pressed garlic clove and salt, and roasted it. Such a simple preparation, yet so incredibly delicious! It was a really easy dish to make for a crowd, so I repeated it for a dinner party a week later, then again this past weekend for a houseful of visiting relatives. Each time elicited lots of compliments from the guests, so I highly recommend it for your next fancy meal, or your next family dinner. It suits either type of occasion very well. It is easy to make larger quantities of this, and my ingredient proportions are approximate, listed here only to give you an idea of how much of each thing to use if you have no sense of how to go about this without such guidelines. The important thing to remember is not to crowd the pan with the vegetables. You want to spread the green beans out in the pan in a single layer, so that they can get a little brown. If you crowd them, they will steam and taste different.
1 lb. green beans, trimmed
1 clove garlic, pressed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss green beans, olive oil, and pressed garlic together in roasting pan (I cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up). Sprinkle with salt. Roast in oven for about 30 minutes, or until just beginning to brown, tossing periodically during cooking time. Serves 4.