Greek-Australian chef and cookbook author Ella Mittas shares her traditional braised green beans recipe, combining fresh tomatoes, aromatic herbs and feta for the ultimate Mediterranean comfort food. The Melbourne-based cook shows us how authentic Greek flavours can easily be recreated in any home kitchen.
This dish reminds me of being at my grandparents’. We used to have it for lunch all the time. It’s a very simple kind of workers’ lunch, but very delicious. I’m going to start by dicing up a red onion. I’m going to sauté these onions in Cobram Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This will help with the texture of the beans, and it’s one of the main flavours in the dish. I’m going to add a couple of cloves of garlic. It’s a pretty rustic dish, so you don’t need to be too careful. So while I’m waiting for the
onions to finish cooking, I’m just gonna tail these beans. I’m gonna put a bit of salt in as well. That helps with colour and also helps to layer salt flavour into the dish. So now that the onions are cooked through, I’m gonna stir in my garlic and then pop in all my beans, some tomato paste. So once all of the tomato paste is fried off, I’m going to add in my crushed tomatoes. Also add a little bit of
water to help them braise, and then I am going to bring it up to a boil, which it’s almost already at, and then I’m just going to
turn it down to a simmer and cover them. Okay, so my beans are looking ready. So I’m going to grab some dill, a little bit of mint, and then I’m going to season with salt and lemon. And then finally a little bit
more extra-virgin olive oil, and then that’s it. I’m just going to let this
come to room temperature before I plate it up. Yum. It’s delicious. It’ll be even better tomorrow. Give it a try at home.
Dining and Cooking