Tender Green Beans

Although green beans appear to be a rather simple vegetable to cook in a microwave, we continually hear complaints such as: “Not tender enough,” “They get brown spots,” “Some get tough while others stay tender.”

Let’s tackle these problems one at a time.

When green beans aren’t as tender as you’d like, it’s probably because there isn’t enough liquid added to them, or else they aren’t cooked long enough. For every pound of cut-up beans, you need half a cup of liquid. For whole beans that are trimmed, one-third cup liquid should be added. They should then be cooked until tender but not shriveled. You get tender-crisp beans, such as in Whole Green Bean Platter, by adding less water or liquid and cooking for less time.

Brown spots (unless the beans already have them because of age) are the result of adding salt before cooking, which mottles the surface. Salt should be added at the end, before standing time.

Finally, if your techniques have resulted in some tender beans and some tough ones, they probably haven’t been stirred well enough, or you may have tried to cook more than a pound at a time; if you want to cook larger amounts, do them in more than one batch.

As for stirring, beans that are cut up and cooked in a round casserole need to be stirred twice (the Whole Green Bean Platter is arranged so that no stirring is necessary).

WHOLE GREEN BEAN PLATTER

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed at stem ends but with points intact

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup sliced almonds, optional

Arrange beans on 12-inch microwave-proof platter with points pointing toward center (few will overlap--these should be thinner beans).

Sprinkle with water. Cover with plastic wrap, turned back slightly on 1 side. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) 3 to 4 minutes or until tender-crisp. Sprinkle with almonds and serve. Makes 6 servings.