Greek Green Beans
Our favorite Greek restaurant has these amazing green beans that I’m pretty sure they slow cook…but who has time for that. I used a pressure cooker to make these in about 20 minutes.
Our favorite Greek restaurant also has a server who speaks English with a very charming Greek accent (which only makes sense since she works in a Greek restaurant, duh). So whenever she tells you the specials, she will say, “Tonight, we have the cod. C. O. D.” It is the only thing she feels the need to spell. Not a clue why. It is perfectly clear what she is saying, but every single time, she says, “Cod. C.O.D.”
Because of this, we can’t hear a cod special anywhere without turning to each other, saying, “C.O.D.” and dissolving into laughter. People think we are weird. They may not be wrong.
FYI, we were trying to book a hotel in Ireland once and asked for a cot in the room. They tried to give us a cat. But that’s another accent and another story.
So here is the recipe for slow (fast) cooked Greek green beans.
Ingredients:
- 1. 1/2 pounds green beans, cleaned and ends trimmed off
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup seeded and large diced tomatoes (I used Roma) or you can use canned, diced tomatoes, drained.
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 sprigs fresh oregano
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- 1. Prepare the tomatoes and green beans, by rinsing them. I snap the ends off because Tim won’t eat them with the ends on, but it’s really a personal choice. You can also just buy a bag or already prepared beans at the store.
- For the tomatoes, I slice them lengthwise down the center, then in half lengthwise again. I remove all the inner parts because I am not trying to make a sauce and it will add a lot of liquid if you leave them in. So basically, you are just cutting up the shells of the tomatoes. (or using a can of already diced tomatoes that you drain.)
- Put all ingredients in the pot and give it a good stir.
- I chose the pressure cooker option on my pot and set the timer for 20 minutes. When it was done, I released the steam by hand instead of waiting for the slow release.
Be sure to remove the stems from the oregano ( the leaves will have basically fallen off at this point) before serving, and adjust the salt and pepper. I recommend serving with a slotted spoon.
Enjoy!
