Canada-based Kenji Black Garlic was kind enough to send me some of their black garlic recently. Black garlic has a unique taste: it’s mild and a little sweet. This spring I’ve been craving light and tangy produce-heavy foods, so I’ve been slow-roasting green beans frequently. My first thought upon receiving the black garlic was that it would work well with slow-roasted green beans. It was a fun challenge coming up with a recipe for this special ingredient, and I’m proud of how these caramelized green beans with black garlic, lemon, and sesame turned out.
The main flavors in the dish are black garlic, lemon, sesame, and red pepper. I use both sesame oil and sesame seeds in this recipe. I think the nutty and slightly bitter flavor of the sesame compliments the lemon and black garlic beautifully.
Although the cook time is 80 minutes, this is still a simple recipe - just two quick steps before the dish spends most of that time in the oven.
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed
- 1 head black garlic, cut in half
- 2 lemons
- ½ cup sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon untoasted sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2
Zest one lemon and cut the other in half, trimming the ends off - set aside. In a small shallow baking dish combine the green beans, sesame oil, sesame seeds, chili flakes, lemon zest, and kosher salt - toss everything together.
Arrange the halved garlic (cut side down) in the prepared baking dish. Add the halved lemon (cut side up).
Bake the garlic green beans until caramelized - about 80 minutes. Using a small fork or kitchen tweezers pop the individual cloves of garlic into the beans. Squeeze the baked lemon all over the caramelized green beans. Stir everything together and serve immediately.
