Guest Foodies: Juancho & Green Beans, Tomatoes and Feta Salad

Kitty FloridoAugust 21, 2013

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A few days ago, we got together with some friends to celebrate a double birthday. It’s funny how in this group there are two sets of friends that share a birthday. Two of them on August 15th, and the second pair are Juancho and myself! It’s funny how after a few years of knowing each other, we realized that we shared a birthday on April 17th. It’s definitely a cool thing… I’ve never met someone who I shared a birthday with, much less another two people sharing a birthday in the same group of friends.

Since it was a small dinner, and Juancho shares a love for food the same as I do, we decided to cook that day. I prepared a Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Chicken (soon we will be sharing the recipe) and a Rhubarb Apple Cake (added Rhubarb replacing half the apples on my Grandma Lucy’s Apple Cake recipe), and Juancho made this delicious salad. He told me about it over the phone and after tasting it, I can say that he was absolutely right. The salad is tasty, not bland and goes perfect with the Wild Rice.

We hope you love it as much as we do, and most important… gather a few friends around the table, share delicious meals and create new memories.

Kitty

Green Bean, Cherry Tomatoes and Feta Salad

Makes about 6 servings
Recipe by Kalyn’s Kitchen, adapted from Woman’s World Magazine

Ingredients for Dressing:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano

Ingredients for the Salad:
12 oz. fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 lb. cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 green onions or scallions, cut on the diagonal into thin slices
½ cup crumbled Feta cheese

Instructions:

Whisk together the dressing ingredients so the flavors can combine while you prep the other ingredients. Trim ends of beans and cut into bite-sized pieces, washing if needed.
Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil, add a generous amount of salt, then add beans and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until barely tender-crisp. While beans cook, cut cherry tomatoes in half and slice green onions in thin diagonal slices.
When beans are tender-crisp, drain into a colander placed in the sink, then rinse beans with cold water until they’re cool. Drain beans again, then put them between a double layer of paper towels and blot dry. Don’t skip this step or the salad will be watery.
Combine beans, tomatoes, and green onions in a salad bowl, then toss with the tangy dressing, stirring until the vegetables are well-coated with dressing. Add crumbled Feta and stir just to combine. Serve immediately.