Crispy Smashed Potatoes and Prosciutto-Wrapped Green Beans: Steak Sides

When faced with a big, juicy steak—and before that, the thought of searing that baby to perfection—it can be all too easy to eschew sides...and reason and composure. Steak!!

But if you're able to pull yourself together, delicately blot the drool from your mouth, and spend a little more time in the kitchen, you'll end up crafting a hearty and oh-so-satisfying square meal.

It's like having this one fantastic dress that you want to wear all the damn time—and then you take it to new heights with killer heels and one of those statement necklace thingies (probably not the best example, as I spend most of my time barefoot and not-very-bejeweled.) But you see what I mean.

Let's get to the food.

The green beans are easy to tackle. Quickly blanched, cooled, wrapped in proscuitto, and then browned on each side among minced garlic (with lemon juice squeezed over).

The potatoes I love because they're a slight twist on your usual potato recipe. You get the crispiness of fries or roasted potatoes, the spread and inner texture of mashed potatoes, and the cracked-open aromatics of a baked potatoes. Steak 'n potatoes—there's a reason why it's a thing.

Boil, smash, season, and roast.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes and Prosciutto-Wrapped Green BeansYield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
For the potatoes:
4 potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
Salt
Pepper

For the green beans:
4 oz. green beans
2 slices prosciutto
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice from one lemon

Method:
For the potatoes:
1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, covered by at least two inches of salted water. Bring water to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until very tender (test with fork). Strain water from potatoes and cool under running water. 
2. Preheat the oven to 400. Once potatoes are cool to the touch, carefully smash them while keeping the potatoes intact. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence.
3. Roast for thirty minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until potatoes' edges are golden brown and crisp.

For the green beans:
1. In a medium saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch green beans until they turn bright green. Transfer beans to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.
2. Divide green beans into two bunches. Wrap with prosciutto.
3. Heat a grill pan to medium-high and add minced garlic, cooking till golden. Use tongs to place green beans in the grill pan. Squeeze lemon juice over each bunch. Cook for seven minutes, using tongs to flip over halfway through. Once flipped, squeeze lemon juice over the beans again.

Implied: your steak is searing to perfection. Put all together and serve!