Stir-fried Potatoes and Green Beans
A Flavorful Side
Stir-fried potatoes and Green Beans | Dara O’Brien
When I was growing up, my family didn’t eat out much. There was no Grubhub, DoorDash, or Uber Eats. Food Network didn’t exist—and any reference to #FoodTok would have been a typo. You would have found very little diversity in my mostly white middle-class suburban New Jersey hometown. All of that meant I had very little exposure to world cultures and cuisines.
My experience with food was largely shaped by my mother’s kitchen, and she was a fairly basic cook. About the closest we got to global gastronomy was a frozen Tree Tavern pizza. I was well into high school before I knew what a chickpea was or tasted an eggplant. This recipe for Stir-fried Potatoes and Green Beans with Mint from Indian Master Chef Vikas Khanna (from his book, “Flavors First” published by Lake Isle Press) would have been as alien to my childhood self as an Impossible Burger.
First off, it’s a combination of blanched green beans and boiled potatoes, which my mom would have served in separate silos, each with butter. Turmeric, cumin, or chiles? I don’t believe my Irish mother ever owned a jar of turmeric, saw a cumin seed, or touched a fresh chile in her sixty-odd years of home cooking. Not too sure about scallions, either, by the way. And she most definitely never stir-fried anything.
Fortunately for grown-up me, trying new ingredients and learning new cooking techniques is a delight; so is finding tasty spins on menu favorites that upend the familiar. This dish falls into that category—it’s really just potatoes and green beans gussied up with tomatoes and some spices, right?
I followed the recipe to the letter, and it’s all about the prep; once you’ve finished that part, you are pretty much done. I liked it enough to want to make it again, and might use some shortcuts to streamline the process—use canned tomatoes, don’t bother peeling the potatoes, substitute hot sauce or hot pepper for the serranos. I had a leftover portion or two and thought this might make a good breakfast with an egg on it. It did.
Potatoes—mashed, boiled, or baked—were a part of just about every one of our family dinners when I was a kid. I still love them those ways from time to time. But it’s a big, wide world out there. Let’s stir things up.
Stir-Fried Potatoes and Green Beans with Mint Recipe
Click here for printable recipe
INGREDIENTS
8 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, washed
½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
2 fresh green chile peppers (such as serrano), seeded and minced
4 scallions, chopped
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
PREPARATION
Place the potatoes in a large pot with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until just cooked through but still firm. (Test the largest potato in the pot by piercing it with a fork; it should be firm but cooked at the center.) Drain and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, bring another pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans, and cook until just tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again.
Cut the beans into 1-1½-inch long pieces, and set aside. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Set them aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or a wide heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds. When they have popped for 30 seconds, add the cumin seeds and turmeric, stir briefly, and then stir in the tomatoes and salt. Stir-fry for about a minute. Add the potatoes and stir-fry for another minute. Stir in the green chiles and scallions, green beans, mint, and lemon juice. Remove from the heat; taste for salt and adjust if necessary. Serve hot.
Recipe reprinted from “Flavors First: An Indian Chet’s Culinary Journey” by Vikas Khanna, Lake Isle Press, 2011