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Lemony Green Bean Salad with Feta, Red Onion, and Marjoram

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Lemony Green Bean Salad with Feta, Red Onion, and Marjoram

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by Sarah Shatz

Lemony Green Bean Salad with Feta, Red Onion, and Marjoram

Photo 2 of 3
by Sarah Shatz

Lemony Green Bean Salad with Feta, Red Onion, and Marjoram

Photo 3 of 3
by Midge

Slideshow
  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best String Bean Salad
  • A&M's Testing Notes: This salad, on the surface, seems like one you see at every barbeque -- except that this one is more lemony, only gently oniony, fragrant with marjoram and entirely balanced. The secret? A...

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  • Chef

    Midge's Notes: When we were neighbors, our friends John and Julia had my husband and me over for dinner on an embarrassingly regular basis. During the Maryland summer when it was too hot to turn on the oven...

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Serves 4

  1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Throw in green beans for about 4 minutes or until al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water.

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  2. Blend together lemon juice, zest, olive oil and agave nectar.

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  3. Combine beans and red onion, crumbled cheese, and marjoram. Toss with dressing. Chill until those lamp chops come off the grill..

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Reply

Delicious! Just had this for dinner along with brown butter red potatoes and cedar plank salmon. Our kids said this was about the best dinner ever. Such a simple recipe and a great make ahead dish as well.

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Thanks jaere! Sounds like a great dinner to me too.

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Made this for dinner this week! It has a great, bright citrus flavor that pairs well with gamey meat!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

I'm so glad you liked it!

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I made this tonight with meyer lemon-infused olive oil in replace of regular and it was delicious. Great recipe for garden fresh beans and so easy. Thanks.

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Oh yum. Must try that. Thanks for reporting back!

Epietzsch Reply

I made this last night and it was very tasty! We're not eating oils these days so I left that out (didn't miss it at all). Instead of marjoram next time, I'm going to try cilantro. My guy doesn't like raw onions but they were tamed nicely by the lemon juice & feta.

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Thanks btbw! Let me know how it goes with cilantro.

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Made this for dinner tonight. Very good. I ended up using only half the dressing, but that's fine. I can make them again tomorrow.

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Thanks Amy. The dressing is delicious with greens too.

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Oh my, the description and picture alone made me smile...can't wait to try this gem. Thanks for all your wonderful ideas and recipes. You make my days!!!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Wow, thanks so much! Hope you try it. I just made it last night with grape tomatoes

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I made this last night and it was gone FAST. I used a Meyer lemon, shallots instead of the red onion and a tomato basil feta. I'm using the beans I didn't use last night to make it again so we can have it for the week!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Ooh, I like your tweaks! Will have to try a Meyer lemon in it sometime.

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I've made this several times for having people over, and it's always a hit with dinner guests - not to mention that I love it (I'd eat it every day if I could). Have used shallot instead of red onion, and that works well too.

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

I'm so glad you like it! I'll have to give shallots a try.

Sagegr Reply

I love this recipe. Can't wait to meet you Saturday!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Thanks so much. Really looking forward to Saturday!

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The bunnies ate half my pole beans already but plenty of local beans are appearing in the market, so I am going to try this for the fourth!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Hope you like it!

Kabul1 Reply

i made this tonight for our world cup bbq - so many complements! and excellent tip about macerating the onions - thanks!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Wow, thanks! A world cup bbq is a great idea.

Steve_dunn02 Reply

Way to go, Midge! I'm making this as soon as my beans are up. - S

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Thanks! Jealous of your homegrown beans!

Wedding_pictures_162 Reply

Congratulations!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

thanks!

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

I made this last night to go with our dinner and it was a huge hit at our house. This is a green bean dish I will be regularly making by popular demand. Bonus: I have a garden filled with marjoram I'm always looking to use. The marjoram really elevated this dish. An inspired use of the herb! Thanks!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Glad to hear it! Marjoram does seem under-appreciated.

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Thanks everyone! So glad you all liked it.

Imag0337 Reply

made this salad tonight - but with yellow wax beans because that's what was at the farm stand. huge hit at dinner! thanks for sharing.

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Reply

very good recipe

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Made this the other night, and it was a huge success....like Midge stated, I soaked the raw onion in lemon juice to take the edge off....will be making it again!!

Steve_dunn02 Reply

I've got a ton of marjoram in my garden....gonna make this great looking dish this weekend. Congrats!

New_years_kitchen_hlc_only Reply

Mmmm, what a nice recipe. I love fresh marjoram. It's kind of sweet (at least mine is), so the feta would balance that really nicely. I'm not keen on raw onion, but I can sure see making this without it, and enjoying it a lot. ;o)

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Thanks! Re raw onion, I was just paging through one of my Nigella Lawson cookbooks and she suggests letting sliced onion steep in the oil and vinegar (in this case, lemon juice) for 2 hours to take the edge off.

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

This is exactly what I did when I made the dish as raw onion can be overpowering for me. I macerated it in the olive oil, lemon mixture for 1 hour before adding everything else. For us, it was just right.

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Leah Koenig

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Leah is the author of The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook on seasonal Jewish cooking.