A Healthy Greek Salad for Summer

Here's a great recipe for hot weather, an updated version of the Greek green bean stew, fasolakia.

Instead of a hearty hot dish, it's a light salad of green beans, potatoes and tomatoes, tossed with olive oil, lemon juice and fresh dill. It's spectacular to look at, but super easy to make.

The recipe is from "Opa! Healthy Greek Cookbook by Theo Stephan and Christina Xenos. 

Xenos, a personal chef and culinary and travel writer, contributed the recipe, adding bright flavors and substituting crisp green beans for limp stewed beans.

"Greek cooking has always been healthy," she said during a book-signing at Melissa's Produce." And she has made it even healthier with modernized versions of classics such as this. "This book represents how we eat today," she said. 

Xenos' Greek roots are in Crete. "Dining together is the cornerstone of Greek culture," she writes in the introduction to the book.  "These recipes and way of living define the way I cook for my family, friends, and clients--preparing healthy food for longevity." 

GREEN BEANS WITH POTATOES
From "Opa! The Healthy Greek Cookbook"

1 pound baby potatoes
1 pound green beans, ends trimmed, or haricots verts
Juice of 2 lemons
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
10 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

In a medium pot over high heat, boil the potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes, until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain.

In another medium pot over high heat, blanch the green beans in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain.

In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, shallot and garlic. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. 

In a large bowl, arrange the green beans, potatoes and tomatoes. Add the dressing and dill and toss to coat.

Serve with crusty bread for soaking up the extra dressing, if desired. Makes 4 servings:

Editor's note: When I made this, I cooked the green beans a little longer, until crisp- tender. The book follows the Mediterranean diet in using fresh herbs and spices rather than salt to flavor foods; however, I chose to add salt to perk up the vegetables. As I made it, the salad could serve 6.