Green Beans and Charred Romaine with Anchovy Butter

Tonight felt like an early Thanksgiving. Anchovy butter, I’m convinced, is the Golden Ticket for vegetables. Just half a stick of butter, and couple salty fish, and suddenly, two pounds of green fibrous plants become dinner. Really. I ate this for dinner and I felt just as satisfied as though I had eaten a cheeseburger. Delish.

Green Beans and Charred Romaine with Anchovy Butter

Adapted from Food and Wine

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound green beans, trimmed

6 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained and chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced (or a whole garlic, which of course I prefer)

4 heads Little Gem or baby romaine lettuce, quartered lengthwise

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving

Sea salt and Pepper

1 scallion, thinly sliced

Chopped pistachios and extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish

1. In a large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add the green beans, anchovies and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the beans to a large plate.

2. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the lettuce to the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until the lettuce is golden and crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Transfer the beans and lettuce to a serving platter and top with the sliced scallion. Scatter with pistachios, drizzle with olive oil and serve warm with lemon wedges.

 

I’m going into the home stretch of my last week on hospital wards… this little motivational blurb was hanging on the bathroom door of my yoga studio, and I take it to heart. Thanks Dalai Lama– in the running community, they always say that the last 20% of your race is where you serve to gain the most ground. In the same way, the last week of call, the last 20% is certainly where you serve to develop and grow in heart (God knows not in mind because I can barely remember the last time I ate! Never mind the subtlies of Duke’s Criteria.)

Haiku #215 August 3^rd

With the storm cloud of

call comes the thunderclap of

untimely menses.

 

Haiku #216 August 4^th

To a bulldog it’s

a crackle and snarl—I’m glad

someone likes junk mail.

 

Haiku #217 August 5th

August evening jog

down on the bayou. Extreme

vasodilation.

 

Haiku #218 August 6^th

A homeless woman

sleeping under graffiti

that says: You Go Girl.