This dish, κολοκίθια, φασόλια με πατάτες, in English, is referred to as stewed zucchini, green beans, and potatoes. It is a classic dish in Greek cuisine, and falls into that category of λαδερό φαγητό (oily food or oil-based food). Ladero fagito (λαδερό φαγητό) is, by nature, made with oil (usually olive oil) and vegetables or meat. There are some variations that will include a chicken broth (stock) or a meat flavouring, but typically, they are vegetarian foods. We, of course, are honouring Great Lent with keeping most of our meals vegan (with the exception of the two fish days (March 25th - Day of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Palm Sunday), and any non-bleeding seafood (e.g. shrimp, calamari, octopus)).
Vegetables, though, are the basis of many of our foods and they offer a huge variety in what one can make with them. A good example of a vegetable with many cooking options is the zucchini. Other versatile vegetables include long green beans, potatoes, and... well...tomatoes!
Cooking vegetables together is a classic preparation. Dishes like Briam, Xortarika sto fourno (χορταρικά στο φούρνο), arakas me aginares (αρακάς με αγγινάρες - peas with artichokes), or mushroom and onion stifatho (στιφάδο) are just to name a few.
Today's blog entry dish is perfect for a cool evening, a warm afternoon, or a Sunday family dinner. It is, for some of us, a tasty, healthy comfort food.
Often, stewed vegetables lose their flavour because they have been cooked for so long. They are inherently soft and may seem overcooked, but they are stewed in sauce and pick up the flavours of the seasonings used in the dish. Although the final product of this dish produces tender, gentle textures and flavours, we humbly believe that many of our readers will enjoy this dish.
For this recipe you will need the following:
2 TBSP oil
1 onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (using minced garlic from the jar is a good choice, too)
1 pound potatoes, peeled, cut in large cubes
2 TBSP tomato paste
a pinch or two of cinnamon
1 15 ounce (425 g) can of plum tomatoes
3-4 cups water
2 small zucchini, cut in large cubes
6 ounces (170 g) green beans (fresh or frozen - no strings)
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
salt to taste
Start by cutting the ingredients. The onions should be sliced instead of diced (for appearance). Cut the potatoes into chunks or large cubes, and the zucchini cut into thick half-moon slices. You want to make sure that the pieces are roughly the same size -- the potatoes will take longer to cook than the zucchini, so the zucchini can be a bit smaller, but they should be cut into chunks. Once everything is cut and ready, the rest of the steps will go rather quickly. Keep the vegetables in separate piles until you put them in the pot.
Saute the garlic, the onions, the potatoes, and the tomato paste. Mix them altogether, and let the mixture cook until you can smell the tomato paste cooking and the potatoes soften. This will take about 10 minutes. You want to keep mixing it so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. If it does start to stick, add a little more oil to the pan. It will get mixed into the dish through the recipe, and will help you achieve the "λαδερό" that you want. And, be careful not to add any colour to the vegetables that is not tomato paste colouring (i.e., don't allow the vegetables to burn); you have to keep the veggies moving in the pan by gently stirring the mixture.
Now, we are going to add the tomatoes. We used whole, peeled tomatoes from the can, and moved them one by one out of the can into the pan. We added the tomatoes separately from the sauce (juice) in the can. That gets added next. We needed 15 ounces of tomatoes, and we had a 28 ounce can, so we used about half of the large can. That is why you will see the big can and we take the tomatoes out one by one, so we could judge how much was "about half". If we had the proper size can, we would have just dumped the entire can into the pot.
Back to the recipe. Add the oregano, cinnamon, and salt, then add the zucchini. Mix everything together well and get the zucchini coated fully with the tomato sauce. Once all the ingredients are well combined, then add some water. You want to put enough water that the top of the water level just touches the top of the contents of the pot. We started with 3 cups, then added a little more -- but not quite 4 cups. You will have to determine how much is needed to touch the top of the vegetables. We believe this amount will vary, depending on the shape and size of the pot being used.
Now, cover the pot and let it simmer or about 15 minutes. The sauce will cook down a little, which is fine, but you will see that the oil starts to surface and the zucchini is getting cooked. Check the potatoes at this point to see that they are done cooking through the centre. If not, let it simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are done.
Then, add the green beans. You can use fresh or frozen beans for this recipe. Get the beans mixed into the pot and then add the vinegar. Now, adjust the salt and pepper seasoning to your liking. Cover the pot one more time, and allow this to simmer just until the beans are hot in the centre. That's when the dish is done cooking.
For us, we usually turn off the electric burner and allow the pot to sit there with a lid until we are ready to eat. In our family we eat this dish hot off the stove or at room temperature. No matter the serving temperature, one can enjoy a hint of the cinnamon mixed with vinegar. You also get the beautiful combination of tomato with the oil and the subtle flavours of the vegetables. The joy of λαδερά φαγητά is that it all the elements meld together into one big pot of νόστιμο (yum)!
"Better is a morsel (of food) with enjoyment in peace than a house full of many good things and unrighteous sacrifices with quarrelling."
Book of Proverbs (Chapter 17: 1)
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