When you take a look at the ingredient list for this recipe, you may think that this dish has no flavor. We have bad news for you: you could not be more wrong. A long list of ingredients does not always yield an amazingly flavorful dish. Sometimes, the execution is everything, and other times it’s important to let simple ingredients speak for themselves. That sentiment perfectly exemplifies this green bean side dish recipe. The assertive garlic punches its way to the forefront of the dish, and the green beans make for the perfect canvas.

Green beans have a crunchy texture that they retain during the cooking process. Unless you cook them for hours and hours, they’ll retain that crunch. In a simple dish like this, texture is paramount. Additionally, you don’t want to compromise the integrity of the vegetable by cooking it so that it becomes mushy. The goal is to achieve subtle char marks while retaining optimal crunch.

Normally, people who make recipes like this deep fry the green beans. We’re not about the life, and you shouldn’t be either, especially since the clean-up is horrendous. The cooking technique in this recipe is known as dry-frying, which calls for much less oil, making it much healthier for you. We recommend using a cast iron pan for this recipe so your green beans can perfectly char, but you can also use a stainless steel frying pan if you have that.