Name: FASOLAKIA WITH POTATOES
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 5
Ingredients: 1 1/2 tbsp Olive oil; 1 Onion (chopped); 2 Garlic cloves (chopped); 500 g Potatoes (peeled, chopped small); 1 Stock cube (chicken or vegetable); 400 g Tinned tomatoes; Salt & Pepper (to taste); 1 Lemon (juice); 200 g French beans (any type of green beans); 1 Lemon (zest); Parsley (chopped); 1 Casserole dish (or pan with lid); 1 Spoon; 1 Knife; 1 Zester/Grater

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Fasolakia is a Greek Cypriot vegan green bean stew, consisting of potatoes, green beans and tomatoes and is a great side or main dish.

WHAT IS FASOLAKIA – GREEK GREEN BEANS WITH TOMATOES

Fasolakia is balanced perfectly with sweetness from the tomatoes and onions, the potatoes add deep umami to the dish and absorb all the flavours. Garlic adds a subtle fragrance. The French beans are not cooked for too long so add a nice crisp texture and also an earthy bitterness. I use lemon juice to balance the sweetness and saltiness of the dish and top it with lemon zest for some freshness along with some chopped parsley.

HOW TO MAKE FASOLAKIA – FASOLAKIA FRESKA

Fasolakia is super easy to make. You basically ad everything to your pot and leave it to simmer. But you do need to follow a few things and keep your eye out to get the best flavour and texture.

Don’t over cook your onions. When you add them to your pan, cook them until they soften a little watch my video here or below to see what they should look like. Don’t let them caramelise because if they are cooked for too long they will end up crisping up and tasting bitter. To stop this happening, cook your onions for a few minutes and then every time you add an ingredient it will reduce the temperature and cook your onions slowly resulting in soft, silky, sweet onions.
Keep an eye on the bottom of your pan after you have added in your garlic. When the base of your pan starts to go brown that is an indication to add your potatoes. Adding them at this point stops your garlic and onions from over cooking and tasting bitter.
Make sure you cut your potatoes small and also the same size. Cutting them small will mean your green bean stew cooks faster and cutting your potatoes the same size will ensure everything cooks at them same time.
Cook your fasolakia – green beans for the last 15 minutes. Don’t cook them for any longer so you have a nice bite to your beans and they don’t become mushy.

How to make fasolakia Greek green bean stew video

INGREDIENTS FOR FASOLAKIA φασολακι αγγλικα

You only need 12 ingredients to make a delicious pot of fasolakia Greek green bean stew

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
500g potatoes
1 stock cube
400g tinned tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
1 Lemon juice
200g Green beans
Lemon zest
Parsley

Read below for my fasolakia recipe φασολακι συνταγη.

Click here to watch how I prep and freeze green beans

FASOLAKIA VARIATIONS

In this recipe I make fasolaki with potatoes and green beans. If you don’t want to add potatoes you can make them without and just skip the potato part of the recipe.

You can also add meat to your fasolaki. The most commen is chicken and it is called φασολακι με κοτοπουλο in Greek. When I add chicken I season my chicken pieces with with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano and grill it until cooked and then add it to my fasolaki when it has finished cooking.

You can also add pork and lamb to your fasolakia, and cook them the same way as the chicken above, this is called fasolakia me kreas in Greek.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH YOUR FASOLAKIA

When you plate up grate over some lemon zest to lift up and freshen all the flavours. Sprinkle over some chopped parsley and make sure to have some bread on the side to wipe your plate clean because this fasolaki is ‘ALL ABOUT THE FLAVOUR’ and you are going to want to eat every last bit.

For more Greek Cypriot recipes click here and click here for more vegetarian and vegan recipes

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