What is fasolakia and how you can cook it

fasolakia

Fasolakia (Φασολακια), the Greek word for green beans, is an extremely popular dish in Greece. This is one of the simplest and tastiest meals you can make.  

In the summertime, which is when green beans are in season, you can find this at almost every taverna. Since most people travel to Greece during the summer months, you should have no problem finding this dish.
fasolakia is a greek word

It can be served as a "one pot wonder" or added to the table as part of a more elaborate spread. It takes about half an hour cooking in 200 degrees. 

The ingredients are simple, you need half kilo of fresh green beans, some garlic, an onion graded, tomato past, olive oil, a tin of pealed tomatoes, salt and pepper.
one pot green beans and potatoes with bacon

This little wonder is relatively quick to make, but mostly easy and nourishing. 

Everybody will find it easy to be cooked. That says it all. Traditionally, this dish is made in the summer months where green beans are plentiful and tomatoes are at their peak. 

There are 2 methods for cooking the fasolakia:

In one of them if you like them heavy you fry first the grated onion with the garlic and as soon they will be brownish you pore 1 litter of water, hold up until is bubbled and after that include the green beans, the pealed tomatoes , 2 spoonful of tomato, paste salt and pepper and cook for 30 minutes.

The other way is to boil first the water and add all the above ingredients together. Additionally you can add potatoes together with the green beans. 

Use the salt and pepper according to your personal taste. The oily green beans (Fasolakia Ladera) is mostly a summer food because is not heavy, plus is a very healthy dish.

Green beans are a vegetable commonly eaten as a main dish or garnish in many dishes, prized for its sweet taste and nutritional properties important. 

Also, these vegetables are good for preparing healthy and nourishing recipes that are excellent for a good health and an optimal physical condition.

green beans plant

Did you know that green beans originate from South America and specifically from Peru? 

In Europe, they came from the Spaniards in the 16th century, while they traveled to the north of America, where they have been particularly sympathetic to this day, being one of the most important vegetables in the American diet.

The most classic and beloved recipe is green beans with tomato sauce or with potatoes (fasolakia me patates), which often make their appearance on the summer table. Next to them always goes bread and a little slice. 

With the beans, of course, you can prepare other dishes. For example, the classic recipe for green beans becomes richer if you add chicken or calf to buns. 

Soté, just like a warm salad with a little olive oil or butter, lemon, salt and chopped garlic, make a wonderful and healthy accompaniment to roast meat and chicken. 

In addition, boiled green beans can be added to other salads with various boiled vegetables and potato salad.

However there is nothing stopping you enjoying green beans in the cooler months. Think of it as a hearty vegetarian braise. 

There are a lot of recipes in which fasolakia could be served. With olive oil, with tomato sauce or with potatoes, all of these recipes will be detailed on this website.

Here you can see a video example of a typical Greek green beans recipe:


If you’re looking for a great tasting vegetarian dish or just wanting to add a healthy side to a favorite meal, give Fasolakia a try!

11 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading this informative post. Now I learned the Greek word for green beans. I hope I will learn more interesting things from your blog about how these delicious vegetables are cooked in Greece. Keep up the good work.

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    1. I'm glad you like my work, and I invite you to check out my green beans recipes.

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  2. When I was trying these recipe, while researching the ways that Greek ladera vegetables are made I noticed that with olive oil it tastes better than with sunflower oil. Also I really like when roasted vegetables have a tomato based sauce with them. Thanks for all your ideas. There seems to be a lot of ways to make them so I figured I would put my own twist on them.

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    1. Keep trying, until you find the recipe which suits you best. It's a matter of taste.

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  3. I make green beans dishes at least every month. I added some lemon juice at the end, which it really takes it to the next level. I enjoy eating it with feta and some good crusty bread to soak up all those delicious juices! I’ll try it with fish meat next time!

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    1. Green beans are a part of healthy eating and provide a source of many nutrients. I'm glad you like them too.

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  4. Yesterday I had a big pot of green beans. I used a 32-oz. bag of frozen cut green beans (and kept the quantities for all of the other ingredients the same). I wonder if you change anything when you use the slow cooker?

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  5. I made fasolakia tons of times during summers, but this cold weather during this time has me wishing it were warm out! I had to admit that this is the perfect healthy summer dish! I can’t think of a better way to enjoy my grilled chicken, than with some fresh green beans.

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    1. The start of this summer is quite cold and rainy. I hope weather it will get more warmer next weeks. I'm glad you like these vegetables too.

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  6. Hey, great blog, but I don’t understand how to add your site in my reader. Can you Help me please?
    fasolakia

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