Use The Food - Fasolakia Ladera

When I have beans starting to come out my ears I always tend to lean toward Greek recipes. I am not sure what makes me think Greek Cuisine but I do know the two recipes, Fasolakia Ladera and Sketa Fassoula, I tend to make with green beans have those origins. Maybe it's the fact that super fresh beans really deserve to be treated lightly.

The pairing with a few other simple ingredients really tends to highlight them. One of the wonderful things about Greek food is that quite a lot of traditional recipes are still around that still tend to be truly seasonal. Part of that seasonality in a Mediterranean climate is a recognition that you are not always going to want "hot food" so instructions for summer food tend to come with an option to serve at room temperature.

As always the original recipe called for produce I didn't have, carrots. Looking at a couple of other recipes for this stew it seems they are not required so in this case they got dropped. Having made this on many occasions without them I can't say I personally see the need so I doubt I will make much of an effort to ensure they are available in the future.

Fasolakia Ladera
serves 4

2 Tbsp Oil
1C Onion
450g Green Beans
1/4 tsp chile
200g Diced Tomato
1 1/2C Fresh Parsley, chopped
3 Potatoes, cubed
Salt, to taste

• Saute onion for around 5 min
• Add beans cut into thirds and ground chile, continue cooking the onion until translucent (add water if you need more moisture to cook the onion)
• When the onion is cooked add your potatoes and parsley to the pan
• Pour your tomatoes in and stir to mix everything through.
• Bring your pan to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Cover and allow everything to cook until the potato is tender (around 45 min) ensuring you stir regularly to stop the tomato from sticking.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste

Serve warm or at room temperature with crusty bread.