It has been a whirlwind week with a trip to the Dole Wellness Institute, activities at school & work. Life is picking up speed as Thanksgiving fast approaches. I have a few more recipes to share before the big day hits.
These green beans are simple to prepare & I keep ’em light and healthy. The flavor of the crisp beans shines through & they are made more special with the addition of feta cheese & sautéed leeks. They pair perfectly with my Stuffing with Sweet Potatoes & Cranberries.
These string beans are cooked just enough to show off their beautiful bright color I wanted to give you an option beyond the standard holiday green bean casserole. They make the perfect Thanksgiving side dish. Paired with lemon they would be awesome any time of the year. They would be wonderful served at garden parties, potlucks and beach parties too.
Simple preparations of fresh veggies brings out their true flavors and textures while maintaining vitamins and minerals. Besides, a heaping serving of these before that pumpkin pie will offset the extra calories, right??!!
On Monday I will be sharing my Thanksgiving Round-Up post from around the web. If you have any great recipes please leave them in your comments below.
Click HERE for Recipe Details.
Variations
- Add pieces of cooked diced bacon when you toss the beans with the leeks and garlic.
- Add some diced toasted walnuts or pecans when you toss the beans with the leeks and garlic.
- Use your favorite cheese. Shaved Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, Gruyere and Blue Cheese would be great too!
Green Bean Recipe Links
- Cheesy Bacon Green Bean Casserole Pot Pie Picky Palate
- Green Beans with Brown butter and Pepitas Deliciously Organic
- Green Beans with Lemon & Shallots Two Peas and Their Pod
- Garlic Parmesan Green Beans A Sweet Pea Chef
- Roasted Green Beans with Onion & Walnut Simply Recipes
- String Beans with Prosciutto, Pine Nuts and Meyer Lemon Food Blogga
DEEEEE lightful! I bet my kids would even eat some prepared this way! Blessings!
I’m loving these beans! The feta addition is what makes them look super scrumptious to me 🙂
I made a ginger-laced cranberry orange sauce that was delicious:
http://nutmegnanny.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/ginger-laced-cranberry-orange-sauce/
I also made a Maple-Gingerbread Layer Cake with Salted Maple Caramel Sauce on a joint blog I run with another blogger, All Through The Year Cheer:
http://allthroughtheyearcheer.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/maple-gingerbread-layer-cake-with-salted-maple-caramel-sauce/
Nutmeg Nanny: OMG those two recipes sound amazing! I will include one in my round-up for sure 🙂
Light and flavourful! The addition of feta for sure makes this recipe a winner!
I’ve been loving reading your recipes on Stumble, they are so pretty. Great side dish! yum yum!
I have just recently started expermenting with leeks – and uh, any recipe with feta is a big winner!
Jennifer: It took me a while to experiment with leeks. Think I was scared of them for some time, now i can’t live with out them. I love their subtle flavor & they really enhance savory dishes. They are so great roasted too.
Dara: Thanks for the awesome recipe links. Will be hard to choose which one to put on. Would like to fit them all!
Anna: I too have a permanent crush on feta.
Barbara: Yes, it is nice to have one or two non-creamy dishes on the Thanksgiving table. Gives the palate a break!
Marla, this is such a fresh green bean recipe. To me, a green bean recipe like this is far preferable to anything with cream or heavy cheese, particularly when served as part of a Thanksgiving feast.
Here are a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes for this year:
How to Make Turkey Gravy: Recipe & Troubleshooting
http://cookincanuck.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-make-turkey-gravy-recipe.html
Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Pecan Streusel
http://cookincanuck.blogspot.com/2010/11/twice-baked-sweet-potato-yam-recipe.html
Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Cranberries & Pecans
http://cookincanuck.blogspot.com/2010/11/shredded-brussels-sprouts-with-bacon.html
What a delicious looking side dish, Marla!
Nice one, I have a crush on Feta at the moment, and it’d dress up beans beautifully. Lovely 🙂
That looks delicious! Love this combo.
Cheers,
Rosa
I’m with you, Marla. With all the (over)indulgences that go with Thanksgiving dinner, it so nice to have a simple and light green vegetable to go along with all the “fancy” and rich stuff we cooks dream up. I love the way you have combined crunchy green beans, lemony tartness, and a bit of salty feta depth here. Just right!
Sounds delicious! I love garlicky green beans, and the feta would add an extra rich touch.
Marla – this dish looks so fresh and vivid. I love it! I think it will be great in the spring time too. YUM!
I like green beans with spices and use some of the recipes at this site for variety:
IF you like Indian food, you might like some of the recipes here. The green beans fry is my favorite as it’s easy to make.
http://www.vegrecipes4u.com/vegetable-recipes.html
couldn’t we have just eaten this for lunch today. next time we do pot luck and all make something yummy….like this salad!!!
Those beans are gorgeous! The look so fresh and delicious. 🙂
This looks and sounds fantastic. Right up my alley! Love your posts so much! xoxoxoxo
Love the leeks and feta. I’ll take this over Durkee green bean casserole any day!
A truly sensational side daaaaaahling!
Hope you are having a great weekend.
*kisses* HH
Lots of things for dinner on Thanksgiving are so heavy, this seems light and refreshing! Yum!
This looks excellent!
You make me want to eat my veggies. Your beans are drool worthy!
I have a great holiday appetizer. it takes cheese and crackers to the next level! 🙂
http://www.meganscookin.com/appetizer-holiday-cheesecake/
Have a great Thanksgiving Marla. I’m looking forward to your round up!
Those bowls you’re using are so cute Marla. Fresh green beans go so well with citrus. I’ve never tried lemon with them, just orange. I’ll have to give this a whirl, thanks!
Here’s the link to my orange green beans for another fun variation: http://www.healthywithheather.com/2010/09/09/orange-and-thyme-spiked-green-beans-and-the-giveaway-winner/
These beans actually have a summery look to them. And with the feta cheese they remind me of a vacation I took in Greece years ago. This one really looks like a keeper. Thank you.
This looks so fresh and lovely! the photos are gorgeous!
YES!! I just bought more than a lb of green beans, and had no idea what to do with them besides a boring green bean casserole. I’m getting flashes of inspirations now. Thanks, Marla! You rock! 😀
What a lovely recipe for green beans. Your photography is fabulous. You are very talented.
Sam
These green beans are just bursting with flavor, Marla! I love the use of leeks here, and feta really puts it over the top. Thanks so much for the sweet comment you left on my blog recently…it made my day! XOXO
This looks great. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am going to make this. I am sure it will go great with everything else I am serving. Thank you for the idea. Cheers!
I just wanted to comment on how wonderful this dish was. So easy to make and just absolutely delicious. The feta really ties it together beautifully.
Thank you very much for sharing 🙂
This looks great. Love green beans!!
Awesome recipe! I used cayenne pepper instead of paprika for a little kick.
Nice! I always love me some hot pepper!