This is a cheeseburger I made last July. After making and consuming this cheeseburger, I made and consumed cheeseburgers every day for three days. I am not going to talk about this cheeseburger. I am going to talk about something else. Something that you’ll want to eat after your next cheeseburger bender.
Say you want to cook something involving veggies that doesn’t also make you want to cry. You want something you can top with cheese, but you don’t want an entire brick of cheese. You want something healthy, but you also want something salty and satisfying. I get it. I got it. I know it’s good.
(Yes, I just quoted The Beastie Boys.)
When lockdown first hit, I lived off canned black beans, frozen sweet potatoes, and my obligatory sourdough starter. That all changed when I signed up for Imperfect Produce deliveries and started eating vegetables again. One week, they sent me green beans, tomatoes, and potatoes, and that got this 46% Greek girl thinking. “What are those Greek green beans with the tomatoes?” I got to googling and found my answer: fasolakia.
Green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, and enough olive oil to go full Sofia Loren is pretty much all this delicacy really is, but trust me, a plate of this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner will make you say, “OPA” (a Greek word with a fairly philosophical meaning that can also stand in for “Hell yes”). Seriously though, if you’re gonna smash your plate, clean up after your damn self.
Now. Here’s what you’ll need (according to this fab recipe)
1/3 cup olive oil. Told ya. (I’ve accidentally used 1/4 in the past and it’s been fine.)
1 chopped onion, preferably yellow (but the sky won’t cave in if you use red or white).
1 pound fresh green beans. Frozen could maybe work, but please, no canned green beans here. Not now. Not ever. Have you ever *had* canned green beans? They taste like a can. (Maybe stock up on ‘em, though. Clearly no one knows where we’re headed.)
1 medium potato, sliced (1/4 inch thickness-cut in half). I’ve tried this recipe with Russets, Yukon Golds, red potatoes, and even sweet potatoes. I like Yukons, but you do you. The potato isn’t what makes or breaks this dish. The real champ is…
Tomatoes. Now, I have seen a few recipes call for grating the tomatoes with a cheese grater. I’ve never done this, but if you wanna try this method, get yourself three medium-sized tomatoes and have at it. If you wanna chop ‘em up instead, make sure you end up with about 12-15 ounces. In the summer months, I use organic cherry or sugar plum tomatoes. In the winter, when tomatoes are no longer in season and really should not be available anywhere in the U.S., I use two cans of San Marzano peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped. Yes, I’m a bit prescriptive about tomatoes, but the idea of buying a dull-ass supermarket tomato in the dead of winter seems like something that should only happen in a Terry Gilliam movie. Like, they’re only available in supermarkets all year because they’re grown in Florida, where it’s warm in the winter. Regardless, the climate and the soil are not simpatico with what tomatoes need, and therefore a ton of fertilizers and pesticides are sprayed all over the mf’ers. That pretty much guarantees you’re not gonna end up with a tomato crop that was bred to be delicious, but one that was bred to just…survive. These poor, poor tomatoes. What’s worse is the people who grow them are…well ah, how do you feel about slavery? Not trying to be flippant — I’m serious. Don’t take my word for it, though — “do your own research.”
¼ cup chopped parsley. Most recipes call for it and yet I have never once used it because I do what I want.
1 teaspoon white sugar.
½ teaspoon salt. I only have Pink Himalayan because I do what I want.
Black pepper.
Ready to do some cookin?
In a medium-sized pot (or your favorite big saucepan you’ve had since you were 22 that always seems to work just fine), heat the olive oil at medium to low heat. If your front burner’s medium setting is like “I AM A MEDIUM-SIZED INFERNO!” then be sure to either turn down the heat or use a way chiller burner. Add your chopped onion — preferably after you’ve splashed water in your eyes and blown your nose — and sauté until it’s all soft and sweet smellin’. The big ol’ dose of olive oil pretty much ensures you won’t burn the onion, which will make you feel like you know how to cook.
Add potatoes. Heat for 2-3 minutes, or until you feel they’re well-acquainted with the onion and the oil.
Add beans! But don’t just let ‘em sit on top of everything. Stir ‘em up. Let ‘em mingle.
Add the tomatoes, parsley, sugar and salt and pepper. If you accidentally add the tomatoes after the potatoes and before the beans, nothing bad will happen. Also, to reiterate, I’ve never used parsley in this recipe.
Add juuust enough water to cover half the beans.
Throw the lid on and simmer. You do NOT want this thing to boil. Some bubbles. Some steam. Mmm. Just like that.
Check on the beans after 30 minutes. Give ‘em a stir. Still see a lot of water? You ain’t done. Throw the lid back on and turn the heat up a wee bit and check again in 10 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when all the water is gone and the beans are soft. (Although you will see a lil’ bit-o-thick tomato-colored juice at the bottom and thaaaat is gonna absorb into a hunka bread real nice.)
Enjoy with bread and feta cheese. No feta? Some parmesan can be fun. Vegan? That Violife vegan feta is weirdly not bad. Don’t cube it, though — rinse off the grater and have at it.
Try. Lemme know.