This recipe yields a silky, buttery, peppery bean unlike anything you’ve ever had before. The prep is relatively simple, but the beans need to cook for an hour or more to break down. They won’t have that bright green hue of a blanched, al dente bean, but what you lose in aesthetics, you gain in texture. You will have to remind your fellow diners that there is, in fact, no butter in this recipe. Truly, you may even need a lie detector to back you up, but the vegetable itself is where the creaminess comes from.
3 pounds green beans
1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
Salt
Cobanero chile to taste
Spicy Green Beans Cooked Forever
Trim the stem ends from the green beans. Add the beans, garlic, olive oil, and 3⁄4 cup water to a very large, heavy-bottomed stockpot, and season with salt. Cook, cov- ered, over low heat for 1 to 3 hours or until the green beans are just about falling apart. If while cooking you hear a lot of sizzling coming from the pot, that means that you have run out of water and will need to add a little more. When the beans are done, season them with salt and extra-virgin olive oil to taste, plus come cobanero. Serve warm or at room temperature.