Green Beans with a Mountain of Panko

1. Bean trimming – If you’re making an effort, just trim the stem end. The pointy end doesn’t need to be trimmed and I think it looks pretty to keep it attached. But trimming just one end is a pain. Easy to do both ends!

2. Tahini – A paste made with sesame seeds. Usually found in the health food aisle at grocery stores. Use hulled tahini (more common), not un-hulled which is darker and more bitter. The jar label will specify whether the tahini is hulled or un-hulled.

Use Chinese sesame paste as a sub if you have leftovers from another recipe I’ve shared, like this one or this one!

3. Panko breadcrumbs – A Japanese breadcrumb favoured for the extra-crispy coating it gives crumbed foods. You can buy it at most big supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths) in the Asian foods section and Asian stores. Substitute with regular breadcrumbs if you can’t find it.

4. No microwave? Use a bain-marie set up. Put the bowl on a saucepan filled with 1″/2.5 cm of simmering water. Then whisk – as the mixture warms up slightly, it will transform into the whipped cream texture.

5. Make-ahead: Cook beans, fridge up to 24 hours. Make tahini sauce day before, panko toasted up to 2 days before. Bring everything to room temp, toss beans in oil, salt & pepper. Whisk tahini, 20 seconds in microwave, whisk again. Then assemble!

Leftovers will keep for 2 days but the panko in contact with the yogurt does lose crunchiness. You can always make a big batch then reserve some of each component to assemble tomorrow. 🙂

Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings.