Greek Braised Green Beans (Fasolakia)
Fresh green beans slow-braised with tomato, potato, and olive oil until tender, a classic Greek summer vegetable dish.
Fasolakia is one of those Greek home-cooking staples that proves vegetables don't need meat to feel like a full meal. Green beans are simmered low and slow in a tomato sauce with a generous pour of olive oil until they turn soft and almost silky, soaking up all that flavor along the way.
A few cubed potatoes go in with the beans to make the dish more substantial, and fresh dill stirred in at the end keeps everything tasting bright rather than stewed-down and heavy.
Because it's built almost entirely from vegetables and olive oil, with no added cream or meat fat, this is naturally low in saturated fat and sodium when you go easy on the salt, which is why it fits comfortably into a heart-healthy or DASH-style pattern of eating. It's just as good served warm as it is the next day at room temperature, which makes it a forgiving dish to cook ahead of a busy week.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion — chopped
- 3 cloves garlic — minced
- 1.5 lb fresh green beans — trimmed
- 14 oz crushed tomatoes — 1 can
- 2 medium potatoes — cubed
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh dill — chopped
These ingredients are standard at most major European supermarkets.
Instructions
- 1Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes until softened.
- 2Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute.
- 3Add green beans, crushed tomatoes, potatoes, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat.
- 4Add 1/2 cup water, bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low.
- 5Simmer 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beans and potatoes are very tender.
- 6Stir in fresh dill and adjust seasoning before serving.