My friend forwarded me this recipe for spicy green beans from VegNews Magazine last week. At the same time, my CSA provided me with a gigantic brown paper bag full of green beans. The dish was meant to be made!

I modified their recipe slightly by substituting agave nectar for sugar and cutting the amount of peanut butter. They make a great side dish that tastes super fancy, but in reality, it’s easy as pie to make! If you don’t have peanut oil, you can substitute olive or grapeseed oil. I do suggest using the toasted sesame oil because it gives the beans a warm, nutty flavor that blends well with the peanut butter and tamarai. If you have other favorite vegetable side dishes, share them here!

Ingredients:
-1 lb green beans, trimmed
-1.5 tblspns natural creamy peanut butter
-2 tblspns tamari
-1 tblspn toasted sesame oil
-1 tblspn water
-1/2 tspn agave nectar
-2 tblspns peanut oil
-1 large clove garlic, minced
-1 tblspn minced fresh ginger
-1/2 tblspn red pepper flakes

Directions:
-Steam the beans just until tender, about 5 minutes.
-Rinse under cold water to stop cooking entirely.
-Drain and set aside.
-In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter, tamari, sesame oil, water, agave and set aside.
-Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
-Add the already steamed beans and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
-Transfer the beans to a platter.
-Add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to the same pan and stir-fry for 10 seconds.
-Return the beans to the pan and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
-Add the reserved peanut butter mixture and stir-fry until the beans are hot and coated with the sauce, about 30 seconds.
-Enjoy!