For most of my cooking career, I’ve made green beans infrequently but always in the same way: steamed and topped with a pat of butter and a touch of lemon. However, around a year ago, my kid suddenly decided that she absolutely loved green beans, and because I definitely want to foster any excitement for a vegetable, we’ve been eating them a lot more frequently and in a variety of novel ways. One of my favorite methods to prepare them is to carefully boil them in bacon, onion, and stock until they are soft and flavorful.

You’ll start with bacon, which will flavor everything that follows. First, chop your bacon and fry it until crispy. Remove it from the skillet and set it aside, but keep the fat in the pot. Cook onions, garlic, and red pepper flake in fat until fragrant and tender. Then add green beans. Add around two cups of liquid and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the green beans are perfectly soft.

Finish with butter, then add the bacon and season with salt and pepper. (I prefer a lot of pepper here.) These make an excellent side dish for a variety of meals, from a simple weeknight dinner to a holiday feast. They take some time to make, but much of it is hands-off, and the end effect is well worth it!