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Sara Kate is the founding editor of The Kitchn. She co-founded the site in 2005 and has since written three cookbooks. She is most recently the co-author of The Kitchn Cookbook, published in October 2014 by Clarkson Potter.
published Mar 8, 2012
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I was all set to write an amazing breakfast post for you this week — it’s breakfast week at The Kitchn you know — and then I got the call from the producers of the Martha Stewart show asking me to come make a three-course meal from my book, Good Food to Share. It would be in front of a studio audience with Martha by my side. Gulp.
Humbled, honored, flattered, and just a teensy bit nervous, I thought it best to spend the next few nights making my meal and testing it out on various friends who could provide honest feedback and perform the occasional Martha stand-in. So I prepared the dishes several times, which means I have a fridge full of leftovers: the big fish, green beans with an almond pesto, and even a few stray steamed lemon cakes.
In other words, not exactly typical breakfast fare…
But a girl’s gotta eat breakfast, especially on important days. So yesterday morning, up early for the taping, I made myself a show-day power breakfast with the leftover beans, cut short and topped with a poached egg. We all know leftovers taste better the morning after and they are almost without exception the ultimate egg vehicle, and that is how I arrived back to talking today about breakfast even though Martha has been the only thing on my mind for days.
Let it be said first that green beans are not in season at the moment. I know, I know. The good news is that pesto is super versatile and could be slathered on any vegetable you like. It makes a nice dip for radish dredging, can be diluted with more olive oil and a squirt of lemon for a pesto-y dressing on salad greens and would be the perfect cloak for those first of season sugar snap peas.
Now that I’ve tasted the beans with eggs, I’m going to make a double batch of the pesto next time. It was really the pesto that danced so nicely with the eggs. Stir it into a scramble, slather it on toast for a fried egg sandwich, or drizzle over your side of breakfast potatoes.
• Tune in tomorrow, Friday March 9, to see the segment on Martha Stewart Show.
You’ll see me all lit up under the lights, with my hands dirty, stinking of fish and garlic, in my happiest place: the cooking place. How did I make it through? Probably powered by those beans and poached egg.
Serves 6 to 8
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Sea salt
- 1/2 pound
haricots verts or slender green beans, trimmed
- 1 large clove
garlic
- 1 cup
lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1/3 cup
extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup
blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
Instructions
Have ready a large bowl of ice water. Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full of generously salted water to a boil over high heat. Drop in the beans all at once and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge the beans into ice water. Set aside.
In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic, parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and process until the parsley is finely chopped. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a slow steady stream and process until a smooth purée forms. Add the almonds and pulse until finely chopped and the pesto is a uniform coarse purée.
Drain the beans and pat dry. Put them in a large bowl, add the pesto, and toss to coat evenly. Arrange the beans on a serving platter or in a bowl and serve at room temperature.
Serve with a poached egg, if desired. See Notes for poaching an egg.
Recipe Notes
• Buy the Book: Good Food to Share: Recipes for Entertaining with Family & Friends by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan with photographs by Ray Kachatorian, $19.47 at Amazon.
(Images: Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan)
Recipe reprinted with permission from Weldon-Owen, a division of Bonnier.
Filed in:
Side Dish
vegan
Vegetables
vegetarian
Dairy-Free
Ingredient
