Girl and the Goat Magic Beans

These Girl and the Goat Magic Beans taste just like beans you can get in the Chicago restaurant. Perfectly crisp, flavorful and ready in no time. Flavored with fish sauce vinaigrette and sautéed with crunchy cashews. 

About a week ago I spent a few days in Chicago with my blogger friends Gina, Julie and Rachel. We ate our way through the windy city and I’m here to report their food scene is on fleek. Seriously, I would happily hop on a plane and go back just for the food. The first meal we had in Chicago was at The Purple Pig and I feel in LOVE with their crispy pigs ears paired with crispy kale, pickled peppers and topped with a fried duck egg.

It was seriously orgasmic.

Can I say that? Am I allowed to say that?

Sure, why not. It’s my blog. 

My second favorite meal was at Girl and the Goat. There were five of us for dinner {Laura of the blog Blogging Over Thyme joined us…she is the best!} so we ordered 10 different dishes. While there were some dishes I loved more than others NOTHING we ordered was not delicious. Earlier that day Erin from Well Plated told us to get the green beans. So when they were delivered I was thinking to myself “these better be some really good beans to win me over.”

Ummmm these beans are ahhhhhhhmazing. They have a bit of an Asian flair but don’t overwhelm you with the flavor of soy or fish sauce. It’s the perfect combination of crunchy beans mixed with savory flavor and drizzled with creamy aioli. I’m not normally one to go gaga over vegetables but I could totally go face deep in a giant plate of this every week.

Plus you get to throw in tons of crunchy cashews.

You know you love that.

So obviously when I got back from Chicago the first thing I did {after hugging and kissing my hubs of course} is recreate these beans. I used 2 pounds of beans in this recipe and ate almost all of them for lunch. I was so full after this photo shoot that I went and took a nap.

Mmmmmmm green bean naps.

It’s like the healthiest type of food induced nap I’ll ever take.

Girl and the Goat Magic Beans

These Girl and the Goat Magic Beans taste just like beans you can get in the Chicago restaurant. Perfectly crisp, flavorful and ready in no time. Flavored with fish sauce vinaigrette and sautéed with crunchy cashews.

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

Green bean dressing:

• 1/3 cup fish sauce
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 teaspoon grated garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Green bean aioli: 

• 1/4 cup green bean dressing
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise

Green beans: 

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds fresh green beans, tops trimmed
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup whole cashews

Directions:

Green bean dressing:

In the container of a blender add fish sauce, lemon juice, soy sauce, mustard, sriracha and grated garlic. Start blending and stream in olive oil until combined and vinaigrette like in consistency. Set aside.

Green bean aioli:

In a small bowl whisk together some of the green bean dressing and mayonnaise. The mixture will be loose.

Green beans:

In a large saute pan set over medium high heat add olive oil. Once the oil is hot add in beans, shallots and most of the leftover green bean sauce. You don't want to boil your beans so don't add too much dressing.

Sautee until just soft and add in cashews. Continue cooking until desired doneness.

Once cooked add to a large plate and drizzle with green bean aioli.

*If you mixture runs out of sauce while cooking simply add a little more so the beans don't burn. However, you're not cooking the beans for too long since you want them to have a bit of a snap left to them.