Green beans, also known as snap beans or string beans, are my ultimate go-to. When I need a vegetable that can be steamed to crisp-tender perfection in about 5 minutes? Green beans. One that braises to silky, dense succulence in the oven while I get on with other tasks? Green beans. When I’m craving the deep browning of roasted vegetables but have only 20 minutes? You see where I’m going here—green beans are endlessly accommodating.
Like chickpeas and lima beans, green beans are legumes, but their edible pods set them apart from the rest of the family. You’d think that a jade hue would also be a defining feature, but no: Pale-yellow wax beans are green beans that have had the
