014Green beans in tomato and oil

Method

Classic stovetop ladera with potatoes. Best eaten lukewarm or at room temperature, accompanied by sheep's milk feta and crusty sourdough bread.

You will need

• wide heavy saucepan with lid
• box grater
• wooden spoon

1. Heat half of the olive oil in a wide, heavy saucepan over medium heat, add the onion, and cook gently for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. 5 min Ready when: Onions are translucent without browning
2. Add the sliced garlic and tomato paste, stirring constantly for 1 minute until fragrant. 1 min Ready when: Tomato paste turns a dark rust shade
3. Add the green beans and potato wedges, turning them in the hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes to coat thoroughly. 3 min Ready when: Beans appear glossy and bright green
4. Pour in the grated tomatoes, water, sugar, salt, black pepper, and the remaining olive oil, then stir gently. 2 min Ready when: Liquid comes to a gentle simmer
5. Cover the pot tightly, lower the heat, and simmer gently for 35 minutes until the beans and potatoes are completely tender. 35 min Ready when: Potatoes pierce easily with a fork
6. Uncover, scatter over the chopped parsley, and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes until excess water evaporates, leaving the vegetables bathed strictly in their rich oil (ladera). 6 min Ready when: Sauce has reduced to clear oil and concentrated tomato

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Make ahead and storing

Ladera dishes taste significantly better after resting several hours or the next day.

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days; do not freeze.

Substitutions

• courgettes cut into chunks for flat green beans. Gives a sweet courgette ladera; reduce cooking time slightly.
• canned crushed tomatoes for ripe tomatoes. Acceptable out of summer season; dilute with a splash of water.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the beans al dente or crisp. Greek ladera requires vegetables to be fully braised until meltingly tender so they absorb the olive oil.
• Ending with too much watery broth in the pot. Ladera must be cooked down until only the fragrant red-tinted oil remains at the bottom of the pan.

Regional variants

• Peloponnese style with courgettes added alongside the potatoes
• Macedonian style finished with fresh dill instead of parsley

About the dish

Fasolakia ladera is a pillar of the summer table across mainland Greece and the islands. Belonging to the prized category of ladera (dishes cooked gently in generous amounts of olive oil), it relies on sweet flat green beans (tsoulia or bardouniotika) cooked past crisp-tender until fully limp, melting, and saturated with tomato and olive oil. Historically served as an economical, cooling meal during the hot harvest months and strict fasting periods, it is universally eaten alongside a wedge of salty feta and sourdough bread.

Found in all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, summer, lent.

Cousins elsewhere

• Zeytinyağlı taze fasulye (Turkish). Virtually identical technique of braising flat green beans in olive oil and tomato until meltingly soft, often served at room temperature.
• Loubieh bi zeit (Levantine). A classic Levantine summer mezze of green beans simmered slowly with olive oil, garlic, and ripe tomatoes.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

412 kcal · protein 7 g · fat 28.4 g (saturated 3.8 g) · carbohydrate 38 g (sugars 11.9 g) · fibre 9.4 g · sodium 610 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Following the mainland summer ladera tradition of slow-braised green vegetables cooked down to their oil..