Given the choice, which would you choose: Eating probiotic-rich food or taking a probiotic pill? For me, eating wins hands down every time.
Fermented foods offer a diverse plethora of probiotic (and often prebiotic) foods; these are beneficial foods for your belly, including the digestive and immune systems.
Fresh green beans are best when just seared over high heat for a quick time to achieve a blistered effect. Remove them before they lose their snap. My Kimchi Yogurt Smear Sauce is a simple and uber-tasty sauce that cradles the beans. Remember to look for fermented foods in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. Anything shelf-stable no longer carries the beneficial probiotics. Quinoa add protein and the almonds round it all out with a nice crunch.
Happy eating
~Monique
Blistered Green Beans with Kimchi Yogurt Smear
1 tbls avocado oil
2 green onions, sliced
A couple of big handfuls of green beans (about 2 cups)
3 tbls sliced almonds
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup kimchi
1/4 cup full-fat, unflavored Greek yogurt (or vegan yogurt of choice)
~2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
Optional: 1 tbls toasted sesame oil
Blend the kimchi and yogurt two tablespoons of olive oil until relatively creamy, but it still has texture. Add another dash or two of olive oil if needed to get the blending going. You can also place the ingredients in a mason jar and use a stick blender to combine. Set aside.
Slice the green onions in half, and then lengthwise to create long strips. Heat the avocado oil over high heat in a large skillet or wok, add the sliced green onions and fry until crispy (this should only take a minute or two). Remove the onions and set aside on a paper towel.
Keep the skillet over the heat, add another drizzle of avocado oil if needed, ensure the oil is hot and then add the green beans and the almonds. Let the beans sit and blister for about a minute, then toss a few times and let sit again. If your skillet is small, do this in batches. You want most of the green beans to touch the pan to get that sear. Test a bean for doneness- it should be softer but still have texture to it. Essentially, when the almonds are toasted, the green beans are done.
Quickly add in the cooked quinoa and toasted sesame oil (if not using the sesame oil, sprinkle in a few pinches of salt) and toss to warm the quinoa. Remove pan from heat.
Spread the Kimchi Yogurt Smear on a platter. Layer the blistered green beans over it. Top with the crispy green onions. Serve with a flat bread to sop up all the kimchi sauce.
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