cocktail nibbles: gremolata & olive oil roasted edamame

When I was a little girl, our family gathered around the television most Monday nights (or Tuesday, or Saturday, or Wednesday, depending upon the season) to see All In the Family, or the Archie Bunker Show, as my brother and I thought it called.  It was a favorite in many households those days.  People enjoyed the not-so-lovable antics of a crotchety blue collar bloke from a working class borough either because they related to Archie, or did not relate to him at all.  He was less than politically correct.


I loved the show for the peanuts.  No, really, it was the peanuts.  That bowl of peanuts that all the locals ate from freely at the local bar, Kelsey's.  And ate from freely as in, they were free!  It absolutely fascinated me that you could just sit down and eat free peanuts.

S'pose I'm not all that excited by a bowl of peanuts anymore. Just so many peanuts a gal can enjoy before finding them messy, and perhaps, a bit dull.

But I still love the idea of little plates of cocktail nibbles that you can just pop back, one by delicious one, like these Gremolata & Olive Oil-Roasted Edamame.  And friends, lemme tell ya—I slipped a small 'test serving' in front of my 'co-farmer', and he literally licked the plate clean.  They're just a tad chewy, with a hint of garlic, the fresh herbal notes of parsley, and an underlying sweetness of lemon.  With a sprinkling of coarse grind kosher salt to enhance these flavors, they make a snack from which no woman, or man, can pull themselves away until the entire dish is empty.  Then you'll be swiping fingers across to get every last bit of flavor.

Here's how it's done—

Gremolata & Olive Oil-Roasted Edamame

• 1-2 Tablespoons gremolata
• ¼ cup pure good-quality olive oil
• 3 cups frozen edamame, approximately

Preheat oven to 350°.

Add gremolata to olive oil about an hour before roasting.  Set aside for flavors to macerate at room temperature.

Place frozen edamame in a colander, and run a stream of warm water over to thaw, allowing all visible ice crystals to melt.  Drain well in colander, then transfer to clean toweling, pressing to remove most of moisture.

In a small, shallow baking dish, layer edamame, then pour seasoned olive oil over,  immersing edamame beans about halfway.

Roast until beans begin to brown, stirring about every 10 minutes, for 30-40 minutes, or desired doneness.  Remove from oven, strain from olive oil, and allow to drain on paper toweling.  Add coarse grind kosher salt and toss to coat all, if desired.

Serve with lemon wedges, and, preferably, an ice cold beer.  Or two.