Anyone else dreaming of white sandy beaches and sun kissed blue water right about now? Allow me to bring a little of the Mediterranean into your life right now. Greek Style Stewed Green Beans are my take on the delicious traditional Greek dish Fasolakia. Green beans are stewed with tomatoes, potatoes, and a generous amount of garlic to make a flavorful and healthy dish using pantry staples and common ingredients. It won’t exactly transport you to the Greek Islands, but at least you’ll have a full belly while you’re dreaming about it. After all, I’m not a miracle worker!
Why You’ll love these Greek Style Stewed Green Beans
-Naturally Gluten Free!
-Healthy and low in calories
-Oil free
-100% plant based and vegan
-Under 10 ingredients
-Uses pantry staples and easy to find ingredients
Mediterranean Cooking
Although Greek cuisine tends to be quite meat and cheese heavy, there are some wonderful vegetable dishes, and this is surely one of them. In fact, when I am traveling and looking for vegan options in a new city, Greek and Mediterranean cuisine is one of the first places I start my search. Restaurants usually have many vegan options available without modification. Some of the most common are Falafel, Hummus, Babaganoush, Greek Salads (with out the Feta of course) and many others. One that is not quite as common, but still easily found is Fasolakia.
To Olive Oil or not to Olive Oil…
When you think of the Mediterranean cooking, one naturally thinks also of Olive Oil. There has been much to do made about the health benefits of a good quality olive oil. Turns out, there isn’t much health benefit to olive oil after all, even if it is a good quality Extra Virgin. Recent studies have shown that olive oil can do just as much damage to our endothelial function as other high fat foods such as sausage and beef.
Once the olives are pressed and processed into oil, it retains a very small fraction of the original anti-inflammatory nutrients that olive oil is so often lauded for. For my 2 cents, it’s not enough of a nutrient benefit to risk the damage it can potentially do to your arteries. Dr. Greger from Nutritionfacts.org discusses the topic here in much more detail, if you are interested.
For this reason, I have made this version oil free, and I think it is just as flavorful as the original. If you are passionate about having olive oil in your diet, then by all means, feel free to add some. My goal was to try to create this recipe as an alternative for those who are trying to avoid it, but still want to try a unique Mediterranean dish!
What should I eat with these Green Beans?
Depending on how hungry you are, this dish could be served on it’s own simply with a side of crusty whole wheat bread or our easy Whole Wheat Pita. Because of the added potatoes, it is a bit more filling. However, if you are really hungry, you could serve with a side of rice. Falafel also goes really well with this dish, and if you haven’t tried our Falafel Recipe, give it a whirl!
If you are looking to add a bit more bulk to the meal, another option would be to add a few canned or cooked chickpeas to the stew about 20 minutes before it finishes cooking. This will add more protein and fiber, making it more filling, while also complimenting the flavors nicely.
Happy Cooking!
For other Mediterranean inspired recipes, try our creamy Baba Ganoush or our Perfect Vegan Falafel!
Greek Style Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 onion diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 lb fresh green beans trimmed & halved may subsitiute frozen
- 2-3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1.5" pieces
- 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
- 1.5 tbsp oregano
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/2 - 1 tsp salt start with 1/2 tsp and add additional salt if needed
- Pepper to taste
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley optional for garnish
Instructions
- Add diced onion and bay leaf to a medium to large heavy bottomed pot or high sided pan. Sauté on medium heat until onions begin to soften and darken in color (about 5-6 minutes)
- Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute, or until fragrant. Immeditately add tomato paste, and stir to combine.
- Add remaining ingredients to the pot, cover and bring to a boil.
- When it has come to a boil, cover leaving a slight crack to vent, and reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer for 50 min to 1 hour, or until potatoes are soft. If you think that the stew is becoming thick, you may add a small amount of water at any point during cooking to thin it a bit.
- When finished, turn off heat, and add salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Squeeze juice of half a lemon into pot and stir again to combine.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and additional lemon juice if desired and serve.
2 Responses
How does one saute onion without oil?
Thanks for your question Ranae! Water sautéing is the technique most people use. It can seem a bit impossible if you’ve never used this technique, but it’s actually fairly easy:
I usually heat the pan to medium and place the diced onion in the pan. Let the onions heat up for a couple min and they will start to release water. Keep stirring occasionally, and at this point, I usually turn the heat down a bit. If the onions start to stick, just add a little bit of water to unstick and stir. Keep repeating this until the onions reach the desired color. You can even carmelize onions this way, just takes a bit of getting used to!