Green beans with pine nuts and lemon

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g beans, green, fine
• Sea salt and pepper, freshly ground
• possibly baking soda
• 1 organic lemon(s)
• 1 tbsp, heaped peppercorns, pink
• 40 g pine nuts
• some sugar
• 1 small onion(s)
• 2 sprigs of mint
• Olive oil, best quality
• e.g. Parmesan, sliced

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Lukewarm starter – refreshing, sophisticated and easy to prepare

Wash and trim the beans, trim the stem ends. Bring plenty of water with salt and, if desired, baking soda to a boil, and cook the beans until tender. Rinse with cold water. Peel a few thin strips from the lemon, then squeeze out the juice. Lightly press the pink peppercorns with the back of a knife. Roast the pine nuts in a dry pan. Then put a little sugar in a small bowl, finely slice the onion, and knead briefly with your fingers in the bowl along with the sugar, a little salt, and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the drained beans, and let it warm through. Mix in a little lemon juice and the marinated onions, season generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Place on a large plate or 4 small plates, sprinkle with the pine nuts, pink peppercorns, and lemon zest. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh mint. If you don’t have to make it vegan, grate some Parmesan cheese over the top. It serves 4 as a starter or small side dish; simply serve with some baguette. I like it best served lukewarm, but it’s also great served cold.