FASOLAKIA LADERA

ABOUT THIS RECIPE

The Greeks have an entire family of dishes called ladera — “oily” — where vegetables are braised in a quantity of olive oil that looks excessive until you taste the result. The oil is not a cooking medium here, it is the sauce. Nothing else is added to make one.

This is the clearest argument for keeping a good bottle in the kitchen rather than only on the table.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4 as a main, 6 as a side)

800 g flat green beans, topped and tailed 150 ml Secret Garden Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 onions, sliced thinly 3 cloves garlic, sliced 400 g ripe tomatoes, grated, or 1 tin chopped tomatoes 2 medium potatoes, cut into large chunks 1 tsp sugar 200 ml hot water 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped Sea salt and black pepper

METHOD

  1. Start the onions in all the oil. Pour the full 150 ml into a wide pot over medium-low heat, add the onions and a good pinch of salt, and cook 10 minutes until soft and glossy. Resist reducing the oil.
  2. Garlic and tomato. Add the garlic, cook 1 minute, then the grated tomatoes and sugar. Simmer 5 minutes.
  3. Add the vegetables. Tip in the beans and potatoes and turn them through the oil and tomato until every piece is coated. Pour in the hot water — it should come about halfway up, no more.
  4. Braise. Cover, lower the heat, and cook 40–50 minutes. Shake the pot occasionally rather than stirring. The beans should be completely soft and army-green. This is not a dish for crisp, bright vegetables — undercooked ladera tastes raw and thin.
  5. Reduce. Uncover for the last 10 minutes so the liquid cooks down and the oil separates out and pools around the vegetables. That split, glossy sauce is the sign it is done.
  6. Finish. Stir in the parsley, season, and leave to stand at least 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with bread and feta or ġbejniet.

NOTES

Better the next day, genuinely. Ladera is traditionally eaten at room temperature. On cooking with extra virgin: the braise sits well below frying temperature, so the oil holds up. It mellows and rounds out rather than burning off. Flat runner beans work better than fine green beans, which disintegrate over this cooking time.