Thank You: Carolyn. I was thinking that this would be a good candidate for a slow cooker

Because haricots vert are so small (thin), I waited to add them later but they were still very well cooked. We, too, usually eat our veggies more al dente. You could just add the beans later rather than at the beginning, or cook them the way you like and add them at the end. I think their flavor contributes in only a minor way to the final taste of this dish.

BTW, I tried a couple of other times to make this recipe but DH was turned off by the shoulder chops (the particular cut which is rather inexpensive as chops go). I just decided to go ahead and make it. DH changed his tune. The meat was tender and did not have a very strong lamb flavor because I trimmed a lot of the fat from the chops. The fat is where all the strong lamb flavor is, so the more that is trimmed, the less strong the lamb will taste.