Most boiling and parboiling of anything (pasta, green beans, etc.) calls for salted or heavily salted water. I have, quite frankly, never bothered to salt water. I am now resolved to do so, but not to overdo it either. The one time in my youth when I did salt water, I ended up with spaghetti that tasted like tire rubber. Let us not repeat.
I am blanching green beans right now for a dinner party for ten. Three pounds of them in two batches. I've trimmed them and added 1/2 to water at a rolling boil. I used 3 pinches of kosher salt. For my purposes, a pinch is the exact measurement of salt that is achieved when I triangulate a portion of salt with my thumb, index, and middle fingers. They cooked for about nine minutes before ready, after which I gave them the cold water shower. The second batch went in with 5 pinches of kosher salt.
I'm probably way underdoing it. Neither seemed particularly salty, but the green beans were very tasty coming out. They are in the fridge right now, awaiting a slivered almond and butter sauteing later on.
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