There are plenty of foods I didn’t want to eat when I was growing up, but thankfully green beans were always appealing to me. However I think that if I had been adverse to them that this method of preparing them Polish-style probably might have changed my mind!

In French cooking this type of preparation is called à la Polanaise, meaning in the “Polish style”. This name stems from a time when parts Poland were being claimed by multiple empires in the 18th century. Many Poles fled to France, where they influenced French cooking.

This method can be used with other vegetables easily and is not traditionally reserved only for green beans.

For this recipe you’ll need some fresh green beans. I do not recommend frozen or canned for this recipe as only fresh beans will give that still-crisp texture. You only need to cut the ends off to get them ready for their hot water bath.

For these photos I only had the beans in the water for 10 minutes to really make sure they still had color and snap. After that is the step that really makes these beans special and oh-so-Polanaise.

In a skillet melt some butter and to that add chopped garlic and some fine bread crumbs. I used Italian style so they had a little extra seasoning. Then cook the breadcrumbs in the butter for a few minutes.

This gives the dish a rich, savory flavor that’s irresistible. One bite and you might just find yourself making a whole lot of other foods Polish-style as well!

Top the beans with this buttered bread crumb mixture and finish them off with some fresh dill and lemon zest. These bright ingredients counter the rich breadcrumbs perfectly.

In many traditional recipes there’s also hard-boiled egg in the sauce or as another topping so feel free to add them if you wish. Some folks also add sliced mushrooms to the breadcrumbs as well. With or without the extra toppings this is one of the tastiest ways to eat your green beans!