Greek Cypriot Green Bean Stew Fasolaki Recipe
This is a wonderful, quick green bean stew recipe with Cypriot spices. To make this a very speedy dinner, I make mine in a pressure cooker. My Yiayia (Greek for Granny) used to bubble hers in a pot on the stovetop. Green beans cook quickly, so using either method will yield a delicious meal within 30 minutes.
In essence, you use green beans, a diced onion, sometimes carrots and potatoes (I omit these), cinnamon and allspice, and a can of chopped tomatoes. This is a cost-effective meal that ticks the vegan and vegetarian boxes with the added bonus that meat lovers will be won over with each mouthful.
I usually serve Greek Cypriot Green Bean Stew Fasolaki midweek, on those days when you have little time and want something wholesome.
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 level teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 level teaspoon of allspice
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- 500g fine green beans, frozen or fresh (topped and the string removed)
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes and ¼ of a can of water to swill out the tin
- a small handful of roughly chopped parsley
- Accompaniments:
- Serve over rice, polenta, or, my favourite, a bowlful of beans with a side of crusty bread.
- Extra olive oil, to drizzle if desired, 1 tablespoon per portion.
- Fry and soften the onions in a large lidded pot or the base of your pressure cooker, if using.
- Stir in the cinnamon, allspice, salt, pepper, and tomato paste, and stir for 10 seconds.
- Add the green beans and stir to coat them in the spice and tomato paste mixture.
- Add a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice. This can be omitted, but it keeps the green beans nice and green; without the lemon juice, they can look a little grey.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and water, and cover.
- If you are using a pot, cook the beans for 20–30 minutes with the lid on; the green beans need to be stew-like and soft.
- If you are using a pressure cooker, cook for 15 minutes, release the steam, and check the beans. If they need a little more cooking, do this with rapid heat and no lid on the stovetop.
- I like a lot of sauce, but if you prefer less sauce, reduce the liquid, stirring often over medium heat, until the sauce thickens; a rough estimation is another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, add the olive oil, and stir to combine.
- We usually eat this food with a chunk of bread, scooping up the beans, or dabbing up the sauce. I often make a little more than I need, and the next day we eat it cold, with a few olives, chili peppers, and fried halloumi or marinated feta (feta, olive oil, and oregano crushed over the top; you can add a squeeze of lemon, but I like it plain).
If you have any leftovers, the fasolaki is delicious eaten cold.
I make it into an easy meze-style lunch with a few olives, chili peppers, and fried halloumi.
Topping:
You can also eat the fasolaki with crumbled feta and a squeeze of lemon.
So next time you are looking for a healthy dinner, a vegan addition to your meze menu or you find you have a packet of green beans and you want to stretch it into a main course. Give this lovely recipe a try.
