Any kind of green beans will work, although thinner beans, like delicate, flavorful [sic] haricots verts, should be added a minute or two later than common green beans.After pausing for a moment, I decided to consult the venerable Robert & Collins (how can you not love a dictionary that has a translation for the term fuckwit?) which defines the French to English translation for haricotvert as French bean. However, there is no listing for the French bean in the English to French translation and, indeed, green bean is translated as, well, haricot vert. Further research yielded nothing from the Joy of Cooking and all that The New Basics, that penultimate of yuppie cookbooks which can atleast be counted on to make much ado about these sorts of silly distinctions, had to say was that French green beans known as haricots verts are "slender and delicate". And before you say it, a broad bean is known as a feve, although I for one have no idea where the accent circonflexe is on this dastardly keyboard...