Want to integrate more veggies into your diet? Put down that soggy, steamed cauliflower — Scandinavian chef Nichole Accettola recently taught us a new green bean dish that will bring a fresh, Nordic simplicity to your table with minimal effort.
Accettola knows her stuff, too: She's the chef behind San Francisco's Kantine, a restaurant that combines Scandinavian sensibility with West Coast flavors. Plus, Accettola just penned the cookbook Scandinavian Everyday, which celebrates doable, Nordic fare that you can easily whip up in your own kitchen.
"String beans are lovely," Accettola writes in the book, "but the vibrant green sauce that the beans are tossed in is the real star of this dish. While a food processor works, nothing beats the flavor and texture that comes from pounding it by hand with a mortar and pestle. The effort and elbow grease pay off. Make a little extra and serve it with other oven-roasted vegetables like cauliflower or zucchini." Pick up a mortar and pestle set on Amazon if you've become reliant on your food processer; you'll be grateful for the quiet change.
Roasted String Beans with Basil-Pistachio Sauce Recipe
Makes: 4 servings
Ingredients
Basil-Pistachio Sauce
- 3 tablespoons toasted pistachios
- 1 garlic clove
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup (20 g) packed fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup (10 g) packed baby spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- ¼ cup (14 g) packed freshly grated Parmesan
- ⅓ cup (73 g) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
String Beans
- 8 ounces (224 g) green beans, trimmed
- 8 ounces (224 g) yellow wax beans (if available, otherwise use more green beans), trimmed
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup (115 g) creme fraiche, for serving
Instructions
- Make the sauce. In a large mortar, pound the pistachios and garlic into a rough paste. Add a pinch of salt and then begin adding the basil and spinach a handful at a time, crushing the leaves into small pieces against the side of the mortar before adding more. Move the pestle in a circular motion and occasionally use it to push everything down to the bottom again. The optimal consistency at this stage is a creamy paste. Add the lemon zest, followed by the cheese, then, little by little, the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and adjust the consistency with a little more olive oil if needed. Set aside.
- Adjust an oven rack to the closest level under the broiler and preheat the broiler.
- Make the string beans. Rinse and pat the beans dry with paper towels, then pile onto a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season lightly with salt. Toss to coat evenly and spread the beans in an even layer. Roast under the broiler, without stirring, until crisp-tender and slightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. (Timing depends on the size and age of the beans, plus the strength of your broiler.)
- Transfer the roasted beans to a bowl and dollop about two-thirds of the sauce onto the beans. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper. Add more sauce to your liking.
- To serve, spread a swoosh of the crème fraîche on a small platter or large plate, or divide among four plates. Top with the dressed beans and serve warm or at room temperature.
Scandinavian Everyday, Copyright © 2026 by Nichole Accettola. Food photographs copyright © 2026 by Molly DeCoudreau. Lifestyle photographs copyright © 2026 by Mikkel Vang. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
