This is a classic Midwestern farm dish. It's a tradition in my home to cook up the first green beans of the year with some of the thin-skinned red potatoes that are maturing at that same time. I'm not sure if grandma used the fresh sprigs of savory or thyme, but that's a great addition!

Old-fashioned Green Beans with New Potatoes

This simple recipe tastes like Sunday dinner at grandma’s house.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound fresh green beans, snapped into bite-sized pieces
1 pound fresh new potatoes, small- to medium-sized
2 to 3 slices of bacon (you can substitute a ham bone if you happen to have one on hand)
4 cups chicken broth, preferably a good quality low-sodium boxed broth, or better yet homemade
5-6 sprigs of fresh savory or thyme (substitute dried if necessary, using a pinch or two, but fresh is best)
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Wash and snap or trim the ends from the green beans, then snap them into bite-sized pieces. I generally plant or buy varieties that are stringless these days, but if you find a string running down the spine of the beans as you snap off the end, just pull out that string and discard it. You can trim off the ends with a knife if you prefer, but be sure to remove that string if your beans aren't stringless since otherwise they'll be—you guessed it—stringy!
Unless the potatoes are very small cut them in half or into chunks. I like them to be the size you'd use in a rustic beef stew, about two bites per chunk. Cut the bacon into inch-long strips.
Add the broth, potatoes, bacon, and half of the savory or thyme to the pot along with a little salt and pepper. The potatoes should be covered, so use as much broth as is needed to barely cover, depending on the pan. You can also add water, but you'll need more salt in that case. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes or so, giving the potatoes a head start since they take longer than the green beans to cook.
Add the green beans along with a little extra water or broth if needed to partially cover them, and and continue simmering, covered, for another 20 minutes or so. I toss in the remaining herbs in the last 10 minutes or cooking to brighten up the flavor.
You can also remove the lid and cook an extra 5 to 10 minutes to reduce the broth a bit if you'd like. This recipe can be simmered for longer if you'd like since the green beans should be tender rather than tender-crisp; leaving it on the back of the stove on warm while you cook the rest of dinner won't hurt a thing.

Does your family have a traditional dish? Tell us all about it in the comments!