Greek Green Beans with Garlic and Tomatoes - Fasolakia
"Fasolakia" is how the Greeks call this dish made of green beans with garlic and tomatoes and dipped in a lot of olive oil. It is extremely tasty, filling and even refreshing, if it's served cool. I've noticed that, cooked according to this recipe, the beans are crispy and, even if they boil for a longer time, they still won't lose their shape. Another plus is that the beans don't need boiling in advance - they are cooked in the tomato sauce. So this is yet another version of braised green beans recipe, but this time with Greek flavours, easy to get ingredients and a very simple cooking process.
First, trim the green beans and cut into medium or longer pieces, if you prefer.
Keep under running cold water, then drain.
I've washed the tomatoes. It's their season, so pick ripe tomatoes. I also used 2 yellow tomatoes for the colour.
Core the tomatoes, cut into medium pieces and blend until chuncky, not for too long, we don't want to puree the tomatoes.
If you don't have a blender, you can finely chop them with a knife or grate them.
Heat half of the olive oil in a large and deep skillet and add in finely chopped onion.
When it starts to change colour, stir in the minced garlic, mix and braise for 2 more minutes.
Pour in the blended tomatoes, stir well and boil for 10 minutes over medium heat.
After that, tip into the skillet the green beans we prepared at step 1 and the rest of the olive oil.
Add water just enough to cover the beans, not more!
When it comes to the boil, turn heat down, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes.
After this time, remove the lid and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
This is meant for the water to evaporate and the tomato sauce become denser after the boiling time. If this doesn't happen, turn the heat to high.
When the tomato sauce reaches the desired consistency, the green beans are cooked as well, add parsley, mix and turn off the heat.
Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving for the flavours to blend.
It's very good while warm, but it's even tastier when it's cool, the flavours are more intense, the beans are firmer and they go along so well with the tangy tomato sauce. You can serve it with whatever you like - meat, fish, rice etc.
Enjoy!
