By Anna Harris, Contributing Writer
Today’s flavor-abundant side dish consists of green beans, still crisp-tender, bathed in a tangy fresh tomato and onion glaze, perked to a sassy finish with both red pepper flakes and zesty crumbles of feta cheese.
Our CSA offerings have been such a gift, absolutely spoiling my appetite for grocery store produce. The flavor of vegetables picked hours ago in lovingly tended soil is unmatchable. Included in this week’s offerings were most of my ingredients-sweet onion, green beans, tomatoes, garlic- so this recipe was a cinch to imagine. Green beans have always been one of my summer cravings, usually liberally doused in salt, and lashings of butter. Simple is most always the most superb, yes? But knowing how delicious plenty of salt makes a proper green bean shine, I find the briny feta fragments to be a faultless match. Combine the beans with diced tomato, slivers of garlic, and sweet onion as well, and you have yourself an ideal late summer dish.
I ate this with a butter-fried set of pastured eggs but if you happen to have some roasted chicken, or grilled fish, that could possibly be even more gratifying. Or with sourdough bread to mop up the savory puddles left on your plate, or rice, or quinoa…
To make this dairy-free, stick with just the olive oil for the saute and finish with minced green olives or, if this appeals, with some high-quality minced anchovies!
This recipe also is perfect for Trim Healthy Mamas, categorized as an “S”.
- 1 pound green beans
- ½ of a sweet onion (1/3 cup shallots would be lovely as well, also can sub regular yellow onion or red onion but use less, by about half.)
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 2 medium-or one large-ripe tomatoes
- ⅛ tsp. red pepper flakes
- ⅛ tsp. black pepper
- ½ cup feta cheese
- Celtic sea salt
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 2 tbs. butter
- Set a medium-sized pot of water on to boil. Rinse and stem green beans. When the water reaches a boil, salt lightly and add green beans. Boil 3-5 minutes or until bright green but still relatively firm.
- Slice sweet onion length-wise. Chop garlic.Dice and de-seed tomatoes. Heat oil and butter in a skillet over high heat. Add tomatoes, fry for about 3 minutes to evaporate juices, add onion, garlic, red and black pepper, and ⅛ tsp. salt.
- Allow to fry on high heat for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, or until the onion is translucent and the juices have thickened and reduced.
- Add green beans, toss well, cover and steam for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the beans are tender but not mushy.
- Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve hot or warm.
Anna lives Buffalo, NY surrounded by a cityscape of both blight and hope. She receives inspiration from the next-door urban farm and loves nothing more than to spend a lazy summer Saturday perusing the lush stalls of a farmers market with her two lively children and husband. Cream and butter are two of her most adored ingredients.
She is devoted to sustainable food sourcing and to encouraging others to find the links between simple, beautiful food and thriving health. Some of her major influences include Alice Waters, Sally Fallon, and the More-With-Less cookbooks. She enjoys challenging herself with serving large gatherings, living with intentional restraint, and engaging her children in the creative world of food.
Above all, she values relationships and finds joy in bringing people together around the table.
You can find her blogging at eastsidepicurean.com .
Latest posts by Anna Harris (see all)
- Conquering Cravings & Disordered Eating Habits with Real Food - February 18, 2014
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Soaked) - January 16, 2014
- Salted Pecan Honey Brittle (Dairy-free & Naturally Sweetened) - December 10, 2013
Greetings!
I just wanted to say that there seems to be a trend among blog food writers to “de-” food items. In the green bean recipe, the writer instructs to “de-seed” the tomatoes. You seed tomatoes, not de-seed them, just as you stem collards, not de-stem them, or bone a chicken, not de-bone it. Sorry to nit-pick an otherwise delicious-seeming recipe. It’s like “Open Saturday’s”. Bothers me, is all. Thanks.
W.
Thanks for the clarification Willom! I must add that I personally try to avoid trends, but this one was simply ignorance on my part. Your observation makes perfect sense, I am now enlightened. 🙂