Fassolakia Yiahni (Green beans in tomato sauce)

One of my favourite summer dishes is fasolakia yahni, a traditional dish with grean beans, which is easy, tasty, cheap and healthy.   Yahni is the method of cooking and is similar to a stew or ragout.

In Greece we get two types of green beans. Barbounia, which are flat and tsaoulia, which are round.   ( I am not sure but I think the round ones are called string beans and the flat one runner beans).  You can use either type but  I always buy barbounia as I find them much tastier. My mother used to make this dish with lamb,  sauteing the meat first and then proceeding as in this recipe, but I always prefer to make this vegan version.

This is a very simple recipe, using very few ingredients but then using olive oil makes anything tastier.  In the winter I make them with frozen green beans and  use canned tomatoes and a tablespoon of tomato paste.  However, now that the tomatoes are cheap I cook them with ripe fresh tomatoes, which also adds additional taste and flavour.  I always add parsely and sometimes I may add just a little bit of  dill (or fennel fronds, if you like the taste) as well.  I don’t remember if I have explained before the reason why I add the herbs at the end but when these herbs are cooked for a long time they loose their flavour and aroma, so it is best to add them in the end.

As I said in other posts, when I go to the farmers’ market, I usually buy a lot of vegetables and of course you can’t eat everything in one day.  In Greece, we also buy fresh fish at the farmers’ market, so what I do is if I have bought fish, I cook the fish the same day and start cooking the follwing days with what is more perishable.  If I have bought spinach or other greens, I cook them first.

Other vegetables like green beans can be cooked later on.  So, in the evening when I relax to watch T.V. I  peel the green beans, wash them, dry them and leave them in the refrigerator.  If I do not plan to cook them the next day, I freeze them.    Having done most of the preparation the previous day, then they are so easy to make even for busy moms who work and don’t have enough time.  I used to cook them when I was working and by the time we had breakfast and got ready for work they were done.   I also do this now that it is hot and want to go to the beach.  This morning before going to the beach, it was so easy to cook them early in the morning.  It didn’t take more than fifteen minutes to prepare them and less than an hour to cook them.  I do the same with other vegetables which need to be shelled, such as peas or other beans.

Fassolakia Yiahni (Green beans in tomato sauce)

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time:  about 45 minutes

Serves: 4 – 5

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo of fresh or frozen green beans (I prefer runner beans called barbounia)
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 big onion, finely chopped
• 1- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 big potatoes cut in 4 or 6 pieces each
• 4 – 5 ripe fresh tomatoes peeled or 1 can (440 grams) of whole tomatoes with their juice
• ½ cup fresh parsley finely chopped
• A few tablespoons dill or fennel fronds, finely chopped (optional)
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano
  
• 1 – 2 cups of water

Directions:

1. Cut the ends and with a vegetable peeler remove the strings of the beans.  Wash them and leave them in a colander to strain.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent.
3. Add the beans and the potatoes and mix for 3 – 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and oregano.
4. In a food processor blend the tomatoes and add them to the beans, as well as some water to cover them.
5. Bring to boil, cover with lid, lower heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, until potatoes are soft and water has evaporated, leaving a nice sauce.
6. Ten minutes before the end mix in the parsley (dill or fennel).

Serve with a salad and feta.

Gavros (fresh anchovies) was so fresh and extra big this Tuesday so I couldn’t resist marinating some.   I also bought some piperies Florinis, but this time made something totally different than the last dip I had made.    I also had some leftover yellow split peas (in Greek it is called Fava) from Monday, which I made the most delicious dip, something like a cross between tzatziki and hoummus, so when we came back from the beach, having all these ingredients in the refrigerator, I roasted some bread and prepared a quick mezes.  I forgot to tell you that on Tuesday I also made some pickled cherries which transformed this appetizer into a gourmet treat.

Well, all these will have to wait for  another post.

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!!

Tags: fassolakia, Giahni, green beans, healthy recipes, Mediterranean diet, ragout, runner beans, stewed, String Beans, Vegetables, yiahni