Ετικέτα: φασολακια

Green beans with onions, garlic and herbs: a recipe from Georgia – Φασολακια με κρεμμυδι σκορδο και μυρωδικα, μια συνταγη απο τη Γεωργια

Today I am happy to share with you a recipe from the mountainous and brave country of Georgia.

It features one of the simplest and freshest ingredients of the summer, green beans.

In Greece we usually either boil them and serve with olive oil and lemon, or cook them with onions, herbs and red tomatoes (yahni).

The Georgian recipe I present today is different, and in my view it is superb. As it maintains all the essential features of the green bean, and enhances them with the herbs and onions and garlic.

Here it goes.

We boil the beans in a pot with plenty of water, a littke salt, and a pinch of baking powder.

In parallel, in a shallow pan we brown finely chopped dry onions  in olive oil.

In a mortar we pulverize garlic cloves and gradually add fresh basil leafs and chopped coriander.

I am very proud of the leafy basil I grow in my veranda. Likewise, for the extremely aromatic coriander, whose seeds came all the way from Georgia.

We add chopped basil leafs and coriander to the browned onions and let the mix relax for 5 minutes.

If you like hot stuff, add a finely chopped green pepper to the mix that goes into the onions. As you can see in the photo below, my veranda is big enough to carry the hot stuff in addition to everything else.

In the meantime, the beans are done and we strain them, and after they cool off we squeeze the liquids off them.

We add the contents of the mortar, and then the onions with the herbs. Please note that the mashed garlic, basil and coriander does not get cooked at all! You just add it to the mix at the end of the preparation.

Mix by hand, and let the mix relax for ten minutes.

Add a few drops of lemon to counterbalance the olive oil and the garlic, and enjoy one of the best dishes on this earth.

P.S. It goes particularly well with hard white goat or sheep milk cheese, like feta.

Steamed green beans with boiled grouper head and Greek Mayonnaise

A couple of months ago, I posted a recipe for boiled grouper head with salad and vegetables, served with Greek Mayonnaise.

Today I present a variation of the dish, where I praise the green beans that are now in season in Greece.

The green beans come in many varieties, I prefer what we call “tsaoulia” in Greek. They are very long, have the shape of an elongated cylinder and when freshly cut are very tender. They need no preparation other than cutting the edges. The test I deploy before buying them is to break one in two pieces and smell it. If the aroma of the fresh flesh comes to you, we are in business!

I steam the beans, I do not boil them. You can notice that close to the brim of the pot there is another folding container with holes, which holds the beans. There is water in the pot, but only enough for it to create the required steam. The beans do not come in touch with the water. Also, the beans are as they came out of the field. I do not put any salt or other substance. For the purposes of taking the photo I uncovered the pot, but in order for the steam to do its work, the pot must be covered for the duration of the process.

Just do it this way and – if the beans are good – you will not want to put even salt on them!  You will taste the bean in its natural taste and flavor! And it is wonderful!

While the beans are being steamed, the fish head (usually grouper, but any big mother will do) is boiling in water, a bit of olive oil, dry onions, carrots, and celery. The unbeatable mix for creating a solid flavor baseline. I never boil the fish more than 20 minutes, because I want the flesh to be firm and juicy. It makes a huge difference in texture and flavor! The criterion for this is for the meat to “just” come off the bones, as if it is still lightly glued to them.

In parallel, I prepare the Greek Mayonnaise, which is a regular mayonnaise embellished with red fish roe, tarama, as we call it in Greek. the Greek Mayonnaise is therefore a cross between the French mayonnaise and the taramasalata, for those who know it. Try it and you will never have boiled fish without it!

To serve, you create a base with the beans, put the fish on top, sliced carrots around with parsley and dill, and sprinkle with olive oil and coarse sea salt. If you like lemon, add just a bit of lemon juice over the dish, to give it an extra kick of acidity. You finish the dish by putting a big dollop of the Greek Mayonnaise on top.

Enjoy it! Bon Appetit!