Green Beans Braised with Potatoes, Sephardic-style
Fasolia kon safanorya i patata
The Rodeslis make a simple yet deeply flavorful one-pot meal called fasùlya, a comforting stew of green beans slowly cooked with onions, garlic, parsley, and dill, along with carrots and potatoes in a fresh tomato and olive oil sauce. The secret to this delicious dish is time, time to gently braise the beans until they become ultra-tender and velvety. I love serving fasùlya with a vermicelli rice pilaf and a chunk of crumbly Greek feta or some crusty bread to soak up the sauce. Any leftovers are perfect served at room temperature as part of a meze table.
Ingredients
½ cup olive oil, divided
1 large red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 pound (500g) stringless runner or fresh green beans, ends and sides trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) cubes
1 medium carrot, cut into chunks
2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped ripe tomatoes or canned chopped tomatoes
sprigs of parsley and dill with stems
1 tender celery stalk with leaves, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup hot vegetable stock or water
2 tablespoons fresh dill, roughly chopped, for serving
Preparation
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large, shallow, heavy-based pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute.
Add the green beans and toss to coat in the oil. Add the potato, carrot, tomatoes, parsley, dill, sugar and season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to medium- low and simmer for 50 minutes or until the beans and vegetables are very tender and the sauce has reduced. Stir occasionally to ensure the beans are well immersed in the sauce. Add enough water as needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat and let cool for the flavors to meld.
Serve warm drizzled with a little olive oil and sprinkled with dill.
Stella’s Hints:
*Tender green string beans or the delicate yellow wax beans, known as hanum fasoulya, can be used instead of runner beans.
*This stew can be refrigerated for up to 2 days if covered. You’ll notice the flavours meld and improve.
*The Sephardim from the Ottoman Empire enjoy a version of this bean stew with yellow runner beans affectionately called hanum fasoulya as they are more delicate in flavour and meltingly tender.