If you ask anyone in my family about their Thanksgiving memories, they are sure to bring up the time my mom drained a huge pot of boiling green beans over her bare hand. Even she isn’t certain exactly how it happened. The colander was in the sink, she went to pour the beans in, and… missed. She didn’t have to go to the emergency room, but needless to say she was in a lot of pain that day. I remember her sitting at the table trying to eat with one hand, the other one slathered with aloe and wrapped in a towel.

There is an important lesson we can all learn from her experience, which is: we shouldn’t be boiling our green beans. Instead, we should be roasting them in the oven at high heat, with a drizzle of of olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper, until they are just beginning to blister and char. Trust me. Remember a few years ago when we all discovered that roasted Brussels sprouts are delicious? This is the same thing.

This recipe is one I adapted from Elise Bauer. In addition to roasting my beans instead of steaming them, I swapped tamari for the soy sauce (tamari : soy sauce :: lip gloss : lipstick) and changed up the measurements a bit to suit my taste. I’ve made these beans twice in the past week and we have devoured them both times. They are a perfect weeknight dish because you can prep them in under five minutes, and you probably already have all of the ingredients except the beans in your kitchen.

I hate it when people call things fries that are not fries (zucchini fries! eggplant fries!) so I’m just going to say that I love to serve these instead of fries alongside any kind of burger, veggie or otherwise. If you don’t have tamari, use soy sauce instead. I haven’t tried it yet, but I think this sauce would be terrific on any number of roasted vegetables, including asparagus, Brussels sprouts, carrots, or parsnips. If you are worried these will be too spicy, don’t be. I was and they’re totally not. Not convinced? Dial back the sriracha to 1/2 teaspoon. On the other hand, I wouldn’t use more sriracha because it might overpower the other flavors.

Green Beans with Sriracha and Orange Marmalade
Serves 4 as a side
Adapted from Simply Recipes

1 pound green beans, trimmed
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
1 teaspoon sriracha

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Toss the green beans, olive oil, and a big pinch of salt and pepper together on a baking sheet. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the beans are beginning to char in spots, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the orange marmalade, tamari, and sriracha in a small bowl.

When the beans are done, toss with the marmalade mixture and serve.