Greek Green Beans Fasolakia

Healthy Greek green beans braised in extra virgin olive oil with tomato and potatoes. This simple and easy vegan recipe called Fasolakia Lathera makes a wonderful entrée that takes just half an hour to make.

A few months ago, I shared my Middle Eastern Fasolia bi zeit recipe which translates into green beans in olive oil. The green beans are braised in extra virgin olive oil, along with tomato, onion, and garlic.

Although I eat that dish as a main meal, many might not find it so filling. So I recently started making this Greek fasolakia lathera recipe which is basically the same thing, but it also contains potatoes. Potatoes are healthy and filling, so I don’t mind eating potatoes a few times a week. And now this delicious fasolakia is something that I often make at home!

If you’re wondering what Lathera means, it translates to cooked in olive oil! You know how Mediterranean cuisine goes, cook everything in olive oil. Lathera is a category of recipes where the food is cooked in extra virgin olive oil.

There are many versions of Fasolakia out there. It’s interesting how cultural recipes differ from one household to another, and from one town to another. Many people do not add many potatoes to fasolakia, but here’s my version where I try and make this suitable to be the main meal, and filling as much as possible.

This green bean dish is so simple, easy, and quick to make. And because of the simplicity of the ingredients, it tastes really good. I love it when I use fresh ingredients, and the flavors are not masked with many spices in the recipe.

The Ingredients

To make this simple dish, you will need:

• Good quality extra virgin olive oil, and an onion. The onion should be finely diced and sauteed in the olive oil until it’s soft and translucent.
• Green beans – trimmed.
• Tomato – I like to use fresh tomatoes, but I’ve seen other versions where people used just tomato paste.
• Potatoes – You can use whole baby potatoes or just cut them into bite-size chunks. I sometimes like to use baby potatoes, and if they’re organic then I don’t peel off the skin.
• Salt, black pepper, and fresh parsley leaves to garnish.

How to Make Fasolakia?

• Prep all of the ingredients, then heat olive oil in a pot and saute the onion until it’s soft and translucent.
• Add the green beans and shallow fry for a couple of minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Add the water or stock.
• Cover with a lid and simmer on low-medium heat stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
• If you’re using a pressure cooker, then cover with the lid and cook on “high pressure” for 5 minutes. Quickly release the steam once the cooking is finished and serve.
• Serve with a splash of lemon juice, and garnish with chopped fresh parsley leaves.

You can also crumble salty feta cheese and top fasolkia with it (vegan feta or not).

Is this recipe healthy?

Of course! First of all, I love the fact that this recipe is made with just a few simple whole foods. There are 4 different vegetables in this, and everything is cooked in just olive oil and water (I only use 2 tbsp of olive oil).

This recipe is rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. It’s nutrient-dense, and that’s what kind of food you want to eat!

The original traditional recipe uses more olive oil (probably around half of a cup of olive oil), and I agree, that using more olive oil will help bring out the flavors and make it taste better. But I’m personally happy with just 2 tbsp of olive oil, and I think that the dish still tastes amazing even with less oil.

If you would like to follow the traditional way and use half a cup of olive oil, that’s around 8 tablespoons in total.

Is this dish served warm or cold?

To be honest, it’s as good when it’s served cold as when it’s served warm. So normally, we enjoy this dish warm after it’s just cooked, and then if we’re lucky to have leftovers for the next day, we just eat it cold.

What to serve fasolakia with?

• Flatbread – preferably homemade!
• Rice – try this vermicelli rice, it’s SO good!
• Kalamata olives.

Another wonderful Greek recipe is this Briam vegetable bake. It’s also vegan, super simple, and very delicious! So make sure to check it out.