I love trying new things, it’s part of the fun of cooking. If you’re not opening your mind to new foods and ways to eat them, mealtime can become a little boring. That’s what makes cookbook challenges so exciting to me. For instance, today’s recipe – Fasolakia (Greek green beans) – is a dish I had never heard of but of course, I was willing to try it.

The ingredients in this dish are nothing I haven’t used before, I actually almost had everything in my pantry already. But it amazes me sometimes with the types of dishes you can make with the same ingredients that you always have on hand.

The main items are green beans and potatoes, and they cook in a Greek-flavoured tomato sauce. The recipe states that traditionally, this dish is only made with beans but the potatoes were added to make it heartier. The seasoning is super simple with garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, lemon and some fresh herbs.

The vegetables cook for around 30 minutes in the sauce until they are tender. It was very easy to make and it tasted really good, the seasoning was perfect. The sauce wasn’t too acidic and it almost got a little creamy from the starch that was released from the potatoes. It was such a nice side dish that could be served with any protein or just some rice.