You only need six ingredients to make them, but they taste gourmet.

“No one signed up for a healthy veggie,” my friend panic-texted me.

“Can you bring one?”

Ina Garten next to a plate of green beans

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My thumbs tapped out, “Yes!”

I had no idea what gremolata was, but I love everything Ina.

The next morning, I speed-shopped for my last-minute, phoned-in side dish.

Green beans topped with lemon zest and pine nuts on a platter

Simply Recipes / Lauren Bair

(“Store-bought is fine,” I repeated to myself.)

These green beans are freakin' awesome.

It smells gourmet and tastes like it, too.

A close-up of pine nut-topped green beans being served from a platter

Simply Recipes / Lauren Bair

Never mind the rich and tangy Parmesan cheese that covers each bean like confetti at a parade.

This is the dish everyone will ask for next year … and the year after.

(Creamy green bean casserole’s invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.)

This is key for anyone like me who reads the whole recipe but still might miss a step.

Here are a few pointers that I’ve picked up after making this recipe several times.

Listen for the oils in the nuts to sizzle, and shake them in the pan frequently.