Fasolakia: Greek green bean and tomato stew

Look at me, following through on my promises/intentions with respect to blogging! Better go check to see if your pigs have sprouted wings.

Anyway, here is the recipe for the Greek green bean and tomato stew mentioned at the end of my last post. My version is less soupy than many recipes I've seen for this dish (most of the liquid comes from the vegetables themselves), and also relies on fresh rather than canned tomatoes. Typing this up I realize that aside from the work of trimming the beans, this is a dead-simple recipe. I also suspect the basic technique of building a base of sauteed aromatics, tomato, and spices could be adapted to lots of other flavor combinations (I'm pretty sure this is similar to the process of making a South Asian curry, in fact).

Enjoy!

Fasolakia (Greek green bean and tomato stew)

Adapted from The Greek Vegan

3 Tbsp olive oil
2 small onions, chopped fairly fine
5 cloves garlic, crushed through a garlic press
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 C water
scant 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 lb green beans, washed and trimmed, and cut into 2" lengths
4 to 6 medium tomatoes, diced
cooked rice
feta, Parmesan, or chèvre cheese

Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and saute a minute or two more.

Add the tomato paste, water, and spices, and stir together into a paste. Add the green beans and toss to coat with the seasonings. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a few more tablespoons of water if the beans are too dry and begin to stick to the pan.

Add the tomatoes, turn the heat down to medium-low, and simmer 40 minutes more. Don't undercook! This dish is best when the beans are meltingly soft.

Serve over cooked rice, topped with crumbled feta, chèvre, or grated Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 to 6 servings.