Tahini Green Beans

Much Ado is over! I have a mix of emotions about this. It's sad that I won't see the cast every night, but it's also very exciting that my evenings are not swallowed up by rehearsals. For Friday's show, 98 people showed up and on Saturday, 60 showed up. Both nights were big crowds, considering we are a pretty new student organization on campus. The show was also great both nights. We've gotten compliments more than ever. It's been such a blast. But there's going to be a cast dinner and then a cast party so I'll still be able to see the wonderful cast members.

Now that I've got time, hopefully I will be able to cook more. I got started right away today. I saw a housemate making green bean, tofu, and rice stir-fry last week and thought to myself, "I should really eat some more green beans." So when I came across this recipe and saw how easy it was, I wanted to make it. I also need to make sure I eat a variety of vegetables so I do not get sick of them. It's been a while since I've had green beans, so this was good.

The recipe originally is called Sesame Green Beans, but I don't have a mortar and pestle and I didn't think there was anything else available that would give me a paste when I grind the sesame seeds. I have a lot of tahini I want to use up, so I thought I should replace the sesame seeds with the tahini. I know it wouldn't be the same taste, but the combination of tahini and miso still turned out pretty tasty. Paired with fresh green beans and this dish was delicious! This will definitely be making frequent appearances.



Tahini Green Beans
Adapted from Asian Supper

- Handful fresh green beans
- Salt
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tsp sugar, or more to taste
- Splash of warm water or dashi, if you have it
- Sesame seeds, for garnish

1. Wash the green beans and trim the ends. Bring a pot of water (just enough to cover the beans) and add a little salt. Bring the water to a boil and toss the beans in for just a minute or so. Quickly remove and wash with cold water and let cool in a strainer.
2. Combine the miso, tahini, sugar, and water (or dashi), taste and adjust.
4. Chop beans in half or into 1-2" segments. Mix with the sauce paste thoroughly. Dole out into individual servings in small dishes and garnish with sesame seeds.