Habichuelas Guisadas al Estilo de la Costa (Colombian-Style Green Beans Cooked in Milk) From Maricel Presilla

Author Notes

Unlike their more casserole-y cousins, these bright, make-ahead-friendly green beans from Maricel Presilla’s opus Gran Cocina Latina will take 5 minutes in one skillet on the stovetop on Thanksgiving Day (no oven hogging!). Despite their speed, they develop loads of flavor fast, thanks to a quick three-allium sofrito and a surprisingly simple splash of milk to hug the beans at the end. (Bonus: Nondairy milks are very welcome, too.)

Maricel writes in Gran Cocina Latina: "Angélica Laperira, who was born in 1905 in the small town of Remolino, about half an hour inland from Colombia’s Caribbean coast, cooked for her family every day of her long life. I met her when she was in her early eighties and was impressed by how careful she was in cooking even the simplest dishes, like these green beans braised in sofrito enriched with milk. Unlike many traditional Latin cooks, who cook green beans until they turn the color of army fatigues, she blanched the beans briefly, just enough to soften then, then immediately cooled them in cold water, a method that she had learned as a young girl from her mother—and what every contemporary chef does to keep the green beans at their brightest color. The milk does wonders for the simple sauce, giving the beans succulence."

Recipe adapted very slightly from Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America (W. W. Norton & Company, October, 2012).

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Hear more about this recipe from Maricel herself on our podcast The Genius Recipe Tapes. —Genius Recipes

Test Kitchen Notes

This dish is part of Residentsgiving—aka the Thanksgiving menu of our wildest dreams—created by Food52's resident experts-slash-superheroes. Devour the rest of the spread here, and while you're at it, learn how to Remix & Remaster your Thanksgiving. —The Editors