Did I say yet that guanciale makes everything better?

Damn. I've been drowning in green beans this past two months or more. When gardens produce, they tend to produce with a vengeance. So since I'm going to by busy and eating out all weekend, I decided to whip up the 3-4 lbs of green beans I had kicking around in the fridge. (I live alone. That's a lot of beans.)

Well, while in spring a young man's fancy may lightly turn to thoughts of love, in late summer a young girl's fancy is wont to turn to that last remaining chunk of pork jowl. And lordy, am I glad it did.

So I chopped up some small bits and threw 'em in a pan to cook. Thought to add some garlic. Added the beans (in batches, since they were of varying varietals and ages). Lidded that sucker and let 'er braise a while.

I didn't actually eat them hot, since I had already eaten, but just threw them in the fridge for tonight. And lo and behold, what do I find? Sweet jesus. The most delicious accident I've ever made. Some of the beans are caramalized in the pork fat. The extra-porky guanciale has permeated everything. The garlic may not have been necessary, but what the heck. I served them cold, with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of parm, and a pinch of salt.

Divine. This tastes like restaurant food. Good restaurant food.

Instructions (for a reasonable amount of beans)

1 lb green beans, any variety, trimmed
1 slice guanciale, cubed (or any similarly delicious pork product, though I highly recommend this one, if you can get your hands on it)
1 clove garlic, sliced
salt, to taste
oil, for pan
(parmesan cheese, oil, for serving)

Throw your guanciale in the pan over lowish (low to medium) heat. Stir it occasionally while you're trimming the beans and chopping the garlic.

When the guanciale is as cooked as you like it (think your preferred bacon style), add the garlic. Let 'er cook for a minute, just to begin to colour, and add the beans. (If your beans are all similar, which they will probably be if you aren't harvesting them from my garden, add them all at once. If you are crazy, add them in stages, according to how long you guesstimate they'll take to cook. That said, you're going to braise the hell out of them, so maybe it doesn't matter. In fact, I'm sure it doesn't.)

Add the beans all at once. Mine had water clinging to them, but if yours don't, add a splash of water. Just a splash. Really. Because...

Now you're going to lid the pot and turn the heat down if you need to. Not to nothing, but to it's-ok-to-go-text-your-friend-for-a-while-and-forget-about-the-beans-without-burning-anything temperature.

Mine went for maybe an hour. They're melting and luscious. I highly recommend it.

Eat hot if you want to. I'm sure they're great. But I put them in the fridge for a day, then pulled some out and drizzled oil, parm and cheese on top, and could not believe how amazing they were.

Best part? I've got leftovers.