Green beans and I have a long and checkered history.
Our relationship began was I was just a young whippersnapper, equally as stubborn and sassy as I am now. Back then, my mom used to cook dinner every single night, and the whole family would come together around the table to eat and share stories about our days, where we injected as many inappropriate innuendos and as much potty humor as possible. I did mention I grew up with two brothers, yes? Dinnertime was a blast.
Moving on, our meals almost always consisted of three components. There was the main event, meat or fish, which I pointedly ignored, fed to the dog, or hid in my napkin. There was the starch, and the beginning of my long term love affair with potatoes. And last but never least, there was the vegetable portion of the meal.
Green beans were a staple at our table, and my mom always served them fresh. They were tender while retaining a bit of crunch, and she seasoned them simply with a tab of butter, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
For all her efforts though, I really wanted the green beans which came from a can, the kind we got in the lunch line at school. Those beans were super soft, 100% malleable and completely edible even if you had no teeth. They were also soaked and saturated in some kind of salty liquid, maybe even some high fructose corn syrup. I’d used to ask my mother why she couldn’t make green beans like those. It’s a wonder I’m alive to tell the tale.
I have since learned to appreciate the beauty of fresh green beans with their nutritional value still intact. I’ve come to recognize texture is a good thing when it comes to edibles, and I welcome whole foods in all their stunning, splendid glory; yes, even green beans.
Fast forward to now, where I get an ungodly amount of them in our CSA every week; at least every single week for the past five or six weeks. It’s the same story every year, where I liken them to the Terminator because they just keep coming and coming. In order to keep up with the quantity, the Hubby and I have to eat them multiple times a week, which tends to get a little redundant. Granted I suppose I could freeze them and come to think of it, maybe I’ll set aside some time this weekend to do just that.
In the meantime though, I refuse to be vested by my produce and I’ll be damned if I’m going to eat the same type of green beans day in and day out. So I got a little creative and doused them in ALL the toppings because that’s how I roll.
This is a cold and ridiculously healthy green bean salad with carrots, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, feta and pine nuts. The entire thing is dressed lightly, with some olive oil, lemon juice and a sprinkle of cracked black pepper and coarse salt. The combination of flavors is fresh and vibrant and packs a textural punch.
Simply stated, these are not your mama’s green beans, nor do they bear any resemblance to the ones in can. I bet you go back for seconds though. I certainly did.
- 1 pound fresh Green Beans, washed and trimmed
- 1/4 Onion, sliced matchstick style.
- 3 Carrots, peeled and sliced matchstick style.
- 1/2 Cucumber, sliced matchstick style
- 1/2 pint Grape or Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup Feta, crumbled
- 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Coarse salt and pepper
- Steam green beans in 1/2 inch boiling water covered for 3 or 4 minutes. Cold shock beans by running under cold water and drain well. Place beans in a bowl and combine with onions, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, feta and pine nuts. Dress salad with a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Season salad with coarse salt and pepper, to taste.
What’s your history with green beans? Did you eat them often as a child? Did you covet the ones in a can?
liz says
August 21, 2015 at 8:54 AMI love green beans and can’t wait to try this salad! And admittedly, from time to time I make a pot of chopped and overcooked beans, reminiscent of the canned variety. I season with a touch of smoked paprika to give them southern comfort food authenticity (minus a ham hock or whatever the hell is normally used).
Meghan says
August 21, 2015 at 6:48 PMOvercooking happens. It’s all good. I like your creative twist to it though.
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl says
August 21, 2015 at 9:09 AMThis looks so good, it may make a green bean convert out of me yet. I’ve never been a green bean or tomato fan, but on this trip I’ve been eating them whenever they appear in a salad or in my plate just because I’ve been so hungry, and I have to say, if I dressed them up differently I think I might change my mind. Especially if feta is involved.
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl recently posted…Five Summery + Gluten Free Costco Finds
Meghan says
August 21, 2015 at 6:49 PMEverything is a plus when feta is involved. 🙂
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Brittany says
August 21, 2015 at 9:50 AMYou inspire me to step outside the vegetable box. This salad looks like a party that I want to attend, many times.
Brittany recently posted…Mount Rainier – Reflection Lake
Meghan says
August 21, 2015 at 6:50 PMCome to my vegetable world. We have a great time here.
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Michele @ paleorunningmomma says
August 21, 2015 at 9:56 AMI normally am not a green bean fan because I have a bad association with those awful canned ones. Of course I can leave it to you to change that with one awesome recipe. Love this combo and especially the feta and dressing 🙂
Michele @ paleorunningmomma recently posted…Bacon Egg Breakfast Bites with Chives {Paleo}
Meghan says
August 21, 2015 at 6:50 PMYes, it’s delicious. It makes me want to eat green beans again. Good thing too because I’ve got enough of them.
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Danielle says
August 21, 2015 at 10:02 AMAye dios! Holy chit man this is incredible looking. Drool puddles are taking place and collecting as I type, thankfully I am not home so others can witness the inner drool monster.
I really did LOL as I read this about the canned green bean thing – I chit you not, I was the exact SAME way!!! In an Asian/European household we are a lot of green bean dishes. My popo would spend all morning prepping them as she smoked outside. Even though she made yummy green dishes, I fantasized about the soft ones that they served at school. I got to have them a couple times and was enamoured by the crack inside the solution. Gah, ok I can go in about beans for days. I love this and WILL try this. Hello, pine nuts?!!! Whoopedy whoop! Happy friday!
Danielle recently posted…kreamy kale w/ krunk kream
Meghan says
August 21, 2015 at 6:53 PMI can’t wait to hear what you think about them. I want a full status report full of all the holy chit’s you can manage.
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Kirsten says
August 21, 2015 at 11:32 AMMeghan,
This looks amazing. I would not have thought to combine cucumbers and green beans this way–but clearly necessity is the mother of all recipes and you’re pretty damn inventive.
I do freeze my green beans when I get overwhelmed (with far less volume than you get–trade ya eggplants) because we’ll eat them in shepherd’s pie in the winter.
Pinned, etc. Thanks!
Kirsten recently posted…Onion Mascarpone Grilled Naan Pizza
Meghan says
August 21, 2015 at 6:55 PMIt’s basically called throw everything into the bowl and hope it tastes good. Alright there might have been a little more thought than that, but not much. Also, I was hungry when I made it so I wanted a little bit of everything. 🙂
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Suzy says
August 21, 2015 at 11:39 AMI love how you have to differentiate this salad by inserting “healthy” into the title. If I’m eating anything with green beans in it and if it’s remotely close to a salad, then it’s going to be a lot healthier than what I’m used to eating (Coffee Crisps, ketchup chips, etc). I’ve been eating way more healthy salads because of you! And this one looks like a champ.
Suzy recently posted…Blended Family Friday: Animal Itstinks
Meghan says
August 21, 2015 at 6:57 PMHee, hee, you’re funny. I guess maybe the word healthy alongside salad could have been overkill. Honestly I was going for SEO purposes, but I might have laid it on a little thick. Oops, oh well, I regret nothing. 🙂
I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that you’re eating some sassafrassy salads because of me. Post one on The Gram for me. Pretty please with a locally sourced and alcohol soaked cherry. Hmm, those might be good on a salad. 🙂
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Suzy says
August 22, 2015 at 10:21 AMHonestly, I probably eat salad every other day now which is huge. I usually top it with grape tomatoes, egg, bacon, cheese and avocado but yeah, I’ll take a pic of it next time and post it for you!
Suzy recently posted…Blended Family Friday: Animal Itstinks
Meghan says
August 22, 2015 at 4:44 PMYes please. You should toss some of those ketchup chips in there too. Might give it a bit of crunch.
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
lindsay says
August 22, 2015 at 8:08 AMmy favorite memory is from when i would snap the end of the beans before handing them to mom to cook. She made them with bacon of course. LOL! Oh and how i liked the canned too. WHy? so wrong of me. must have been that age.
lindsay recently posted…6 Easy Gluten Free Recipes Rich in Magnesium
Meghan says
August 22, 2015 at 4:46 PMI think at that age we all wanted the processed junk food versus whatever momma was making. Our poor mothers, although I love that you have that memory surrounding green beans.
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Chelsea @ Chelsea's Healthy Kitchen says
August 22, 2015 at 12:54 PMMmm these flavours! I swear you and I were meant to live in the Mediterranean with our love for cheese and fresh veggies. And cheese.
I grew up on fresh green beans too – with butter and toasted almonds. It’s pretty much the only way I ever make green beans, so I’m glad to have this recipe to expand my horizons!
Chelsea @ Chelsea’s Healthy Kitchen recently posted…Ravine Vineyard
Meghan says
August 22, 2015 at 4:47 PMWe should pack up and move to the Mediterranean or at the very least vacation there for a month and eat and drink our way through the towns. It sounds ideal. Can we put that on the agenda for next summer?
You can’t beat butter and toasted almonds either. It’s simple, easy and a classic.
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Jayne says
August 22, 2015 at 3:42 PMYum this looks delicious lady, also just know I though of you today when I had my lunch which was literally stir fry veggies and cheese with egg whites, but it was STINKIN DELICIOUS!
Jayne recently posted…WIAW: What I Eat When My Hubs is Gone.
Meghan says
August 22, 2015 at 4:52 PMThat does sound delicious. Throw in the egg yolk, my favorite part, and I’m there.
Meghan recently posted…Healthy Green Bean Salad With All The Toppings
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
August 23, 2015 at 10:08 AMthose feta pieces are like nuggets of heaven. I love Green beans but NOT steamed…fresh or roasted but not roasted like I did the asparagus which resembled barbie’s hair.
Arman @ thebigmansworld recently posted…Apple Pie French Toast Oatmeal
Meghan says
August 24, 2015 at 5:45 PMBarbie’s hair in veggie form is not good. Not that I’ve ever tried it before, but I’ll take your word for it.
Meghan recently posted…Currently: August 2015
TheJanuaryGlow says
August 23, 2015 at 10:25 AMThis looks amazing! I love all the toppings but the pine nuts and feta take it to another level!
TheJanuaryGlow recently posted…{ tried + true } Thai Quinoa Salad
Meghan says
August 24, 2015 at 5:47 PMThanks. You can never go wrong with pine nuts and feta. 🙂
Meghan recently posted…Currently: August 2015
Amanda @ .running with spoons. says
August 23, 2015 at 6:05 PMSooo… the only veggies I’d eat as a kid were potatoes, corn, and raw carrots… Needless to say, me and green beans don’t have much of a history. My mom always made them with some kind of fried bread crumb topping, but even that wasn’t enough to convince me. I don’t mind them now, but I think broccoli is my number 1 green veggie. I eat green beans by dipping them in ketchup like fries 😛
Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…. link love 8/23 .
Meghan says
August 24, 2015 at 5:47 PMBroccoli is the Hubby’s favorite too.
Meghan recently posted…Currently: August 2015
Jen @ Chase the Red Grape says
August 23, 2015 at 10:38 PMWe didn’t get green beans in a can in the UK, or if we did they weren’t popular. Every dish at school, was served with either corn, peas or baked beans -corn was my jam – but once again I think the may have been coated in some sort of sugar syrup…
I love green beans though and look forward to trying out this recipe! I always forget that GB can be eaten cold as well as hot!
Jen @ Chase the Red Grape recently posted…Friday Favourites from a Foodie!
Meghan says
August 24, 2015 at 5:49 PMI like the idea of serving the green beans cold because it’s easy. You can get bring this to a party and not have to worry about heating it up or overcooking it. It’s already ready to go.
Meghan recently posted…Currently: August 2015