Weekday Vegetarian: Sesame Green Beans

Photo: Kelly Rossiter/CC BY 2.0

I look at leftovers as a way to take food I've already cooked and turn it into something totally different the next day. It's not uncommon in the summer for me to cook extra vegetables, just so I can turn them into a salad or fritters for a future lunch or dinner. My favourite way to use up leftover green beans is to make a paste of olive oil with a grainy mustard, add a bit of garlic and maybe some chopped green onion and then mix that with the beans.

Today I felt like something salty, so I made an asian-style sauce for them. You could pour this sauce over any leftover vegetable you have, as long as it isn't already sauced. This would be great over raw vegetables such as cucumber as well. There were just enough leftover beans for one person, but a made a bit more dressing that I can use over wilted greens at dinner. I used some Chinese preserved hot pepper flakes that my son brought over, but regular hot pepper flakes are fine. A bit of chili oil might also add a bit more heat.

Sesame Green Beans

1 cup cooked green beans
2 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
1/4 tsp chili oil (optional)
1/2 tsp sesames seeds for garnish

1. Place cooked green beans in a bowl. In a small cup mix oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, hot pepper flakes and chili oil if using. Pour just enough of the mixture over the green beans to coat them, then stir them to make sure all the beans are covered. Let stand for 15 minutes or so to allow the beans to soak up the flavour.

2. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

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