A Greek green bean salad with feta and tomatoes turns fresh summer beans into a bright, tangy side dish.
What is a Greek green bean salad?
In Greek, green beans are called ampelofasolia, so this dish is often known as ampelofasolia salata. Many Greek homes serve the beans warm or at room temperature. They dress them with good olive oil and a splash of vinegar or lemon.
Most of us know green beans from fasolakia ladera, the slow summer stew of beans, potatoes and tomato. That dish belongs to the family of ladera, or vegetables cooked in plenty of olive oil.
This Greek green bean salad takes a quicker route. You boil the beans until soft, then toss them with raw tomato, herbs and feta while they soak up the dressing.
Read more: Greek Lamb Stew With Green Beans: A Hearty One-Pot Family Classic
Overall, a Greek green bean salad sits somewhere between a side dish and a meze plate. Like other meze dishes, it works best when shared, and it travels well to a picnic or barbecue.
Ingredients for three serves
This Greek green bean salad recipe comes from Barbara Sauermann, a recipe developer and Senior Content Producer at Allrecipes. It holds a perfect 5 out of 5 from 20 ratings, and 23 home cooks say they have made it. You need:
- 1 pound (about 450 g) fresh green beans, trimmed
- 1/4 US cup (about 60 ml) olive oil
- 2 US tablespoons (about 30 ml) white balsamic vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 US cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- Garlic, 1 clove, finely chopped
- 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 2 ounces (about 55 g) crumbled feta
Australian cooks should note that the recipe means a French shallot, or eschalot, rather than a spring onion. A small piece of red onion also works.
Choose a good block of feta in brine and crumble it yourself. Our guide on checking one letter on the packet explains how to spot the real thing.
How to make the salad
Allrecipes lists 20 minutes of preparation, 15 minutes of cooking and 20 minutes of resting. So, the Greek green bean salad takes about 55 minutes from start to finish.
- First, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil.
- Add the beans and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until soft.
- Drain the beans well and let them steam dry for a minute.
- Next, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Stir the parsley, shallot and garlic into the dressing.
- Place the beans and tomatoes in a large bowl, pour over the dressing and toss.
- Fold in the feta.
- Finally, leave the salad to rest for 20 minutes before serving.
The resting time matters for a Greek green bean salad. It lets the warm beans absorb the dressing, while the tomatoes release a little juice into the bowl.
Greek cooks like their beans tender rather than squeaky, so taste one before you drain them. If your beans are very fresh and thin, they may need less time.
Tips from home cooks
Allrecipes shows 13 reviews for this Greek green bean salad, and every rating is five stars. Marsha in Asheville took it to a potluck and wrote, “returned home with an empty bowl!”
Cynthia Feldman followed the recipe exactly and called it “DIVINE.” She said it was the first way her husband, who dislikes green beans, would happily eat them.
Other cooks made small swaps. Country By Terrilyn had only regular balsamic vinegar, but still found the dish amazing. Marianne left out the shallot and grated the garlic, because she prefers it that way in dressings.
One reviewer used red onion instead of shallot, while Samantha had no feta and used Gorgonzola. A Greek cook would stick with feta, but the dressing holds up either way.
Momma Mophead had a glut of beans in her garden and wanted something refreshing. She said the salad hit the spot and felt relatively healthy. According to Allrecipes, each serve has about 304 calories, 7 g of protein and 7 g of fibre.
Serving ideas for summer
Serve the Greek green bean salad with grilled fish, lamb chops or roast chicken. It also makes a light lunch with crusty bread to mop up the dressing.
For a full spread, pair it with a crisp lettuce and dill classic and a bowl of olives. If you are torn between summer vegetables, see whether Greeks prefer okra or fasolakia.
One cook also said the Greek green bean salad tastes excellent the next day. Keep leftovers in the fridge, then bring them back to room temperature before serving. The full method is in the original recipe on Allrecipes.
Source: Allrecipes
