Welcome to another tasty edition of Chefs Share! Each month, we share a home chef-friendly recipe from one of Miami’s culinary stars. If you’ve never worked in a professional kitchen before, don’t worry; these recipes don’t require any formal experience, and the ingredients can be found at your local supermarket or specialty store.
This month’s recipe, for haricots verts (French green beans), comes to us from chef Frédéric Joulin of Semilla (305.674.6522), located at 1330 Alton Rd. in Miami Beach.
We introduced Joulin and his “hidden gem” restaurant in our October restaurant review column. He started his career in Paris at 17, working in Michelin-starred Parisian restaurants such as Le Jules Verne and with Paris’ top chefs – notably the three Michelin-starred Guy Savoy – and also served as the private chef to French President Jacques Chirac at the Elysée Palace for two years. In 2005 Joulin moved to Miami and in 2013 he launched Semilla, a delightful French-American bistro.
(Irene Moore for Biscayne Times)
Chef Frédéric Joulin
An Escoffier-trained chef, Joulin has helped define classic French cuisine in Miami, enhanced by a contemporary, edgy twist. His catering business is going gangbusters, too; you can order a complete French-style Thanksgiving takeout dinner from Semilla by calling the restaurant or ordering online at SemillaMiami.com until Nov. 22. Dinner orders will be available for pickup Thanksgiving Day and range from $198-$396, depending on the number of your guests. A Thanksgiving Day menu will be offered in the restaurant from 5-9 p.m.
If you’re committed to cooking your own Thanksgiving feast, Joulin suggests adding his haricots verts to the menu.
“It’s very simple,” he said of the recipe. “It calls for very few ingredients and cooks in under 10 minutes, so you can make it right before you eat.”
Easy to prepare yet still very flavorful, you’ll get the greatest result by opting for fresh, not frozen, green beans, as their firm texture highlights the recipe. Joulin prefers authentic haricots verts, though any type of green bean works well.
Haricots verts are slightly longer and skinnier than regular green beans and may cost a bit more, because they’re harvested earlier than regular green beans. It’s that earlier harvest that makes them more tender and tastier. You can find them at most grocery stores; look for the label that says “French green beans” or “haricots verts.”
Enjoy!
CHEF JOULIN’S HARICOTS VERTS
Yield: 4 Servings
INGREDIENTS
· 4 cups water
· 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
· 1 pound haricots verts, cleaned and patted dry
· 1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
· 3 tablespoons peeled and chopped shallots
Haricots verts
· 3 tablespoons butter
· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
PREPARATION
· Add salt to water and bring to a boil; add haricots verts to pot and cook until tender but firm, about 3-5 minutes.
· Drain haricots verts and immediately rinse in an ice and cold water bath, to keep them firm and bright in color; set aside.
· In large skillet sauté mushrooms and shallots in butter until they start to brown and shallots start to caramelize; the more caramelization, the better the flavor.
· Add haricots verts to skillet, season to taste with salt and pepper, and sauté briefly; haricots verts should be crisp-tender but remain vibrant green.
· Transfer haricots verts to platter and serve. Tip: To serve as a cold salad, Joulin suggests tossing them with a lemon-Dijon dressing for a peppery, zingy tang.
Irene Moore is a Miami-based writer and certified sommelier whose vivid descriptions take readers through culinary cultures around the world. Her feature articles have appeared in print publications, travel guidebooks and websites in the U.S. and Europe.