Name: Fasolakia | Greek Beans Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion (finely diced); 220 g green beans; 1 large carrot (grated); 1 clove garlic (crushed); 10 g ginger (grated or finely diced); 2 tomatoes (diced); 1 red chilli pepper (finely sliced); 1 tsp ground coriander; Handful fresh herbs (parsley or coriander); 200 ml vegetable stock

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If you haven't heard of fasolakia it's a healthy vegan Greek green beans recipe that is great as either a main meal or a side dish. Flavoured with garlic, ginger and chilli it is a spicy stew recipe to wake up your tastebuds!

Green Beans can be so much more than a side dish!

Are you a fan of green beans? I think they're delicious but I mainly eat them as a side dish. That's a shame as they can be so much more. In this Greek green bean stew recipe they become the real star. It's a healthy vibrant recipe that is so good you can eat it as a main dish.

The green beans really soak up the spicy flavours in the stew and if you have some fresh bread to mop up the sauce then it becomes quite a hearty meal.

So if you think a green bean stew is not interesting enough to make as main meal then do think again. The chilli, ginger and garlic in this recipe really make it worth trying.

Ok, I have to admit that I was surprised by just how tasty this recipe is. I wasn't expecting to like this green bean stew quite as much as I did!

What is fasolakia?

Fasolakia is a Greek green bean recipe a bit like a stew and can be served cold as well as hot. That means it's a great recipe to make one day and then eat the leftovers the next day. You don't even have to reheat them. It's also a super simple recipe to prepare. Once the onions have softened then it's really just a case of adding the green beans and other vegetables to the pot and simmering.

This Greek beans recipe is slightly adapted from a recipe in Sarah Raven's Food for Friends and Family. I borrowed this book from the library and I lovde it so much I was disappointed when I had to take it back. It is divided into 4 sections and a lot of the recipes remind me of Ottolenghi's Plenty in that they really celebrate the vegetables.

What ingredients do you need for fasolakia?

Olive oil - Just light olive oil is fine for this recipe as you're using it to cook the vegetables in.
Onion - I usually use a brown onion but red onion also works
Green beans - These are the star of this dish so really nice fresh ones are best.
Carrot
Garlic - Fresh cloves of garlic are fine or lazy garlic
Fresh root ginger - Or lazy ginger
Tomatoes
Red chilli pepper - Use a green one if you don't have red or omit completely if you don't want it to be too hot.
Ground coriander
Fresh herbs - Parsley or coriander both work well
Vegetable stock

Can you adapt this Greek beans recipe?

Of course you can adapt it! If you're not such a fan of chillies then leave them out for example or take the seeds out.

If you want it to be more of a soupy recipe then you can dice the green beans and add some extra stock.

Don't feel you have to cook the beans for the full 45 minutes. I normally like my vegetables to retain quite a bit of bite and so sometimes I'll just cook this for 20 minutes.

You can throw in a few extra ingredients if you like too. For example Greek olives go really well in this stew.

This is a vegan recipe but of course feel free to adapt it. I love eating this with a dollop of Greek yogurt or some crumbled feta.

Can you freeze fasolakia?

Yes, this dish freezes well for up to three months. Defrost and then reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave

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