Tomatoey Greek Greens

When I crave a little warmth and comfort, I revert to a Greek style of cooking called yiahni, in which you slowly cook seasonal veggies in oil and tomatoes. Forget crunchy vegetables, I want them tender, sweet and delicious. In the summer, I will gently cook fresh flat beans and green beans in lots of garlic, onions and tomatoes; in the winter, I resort to using frozen peas and green beans. Either way, I will eat them with fresh bread and capers. A really nutritious and wholesome meal.

Vegan, Dairy-Free, and Gluten-Free

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

• 14-oz can of diced tomatoes, or 14 oz fresh, ripe tomatoes

  Medesque Georgina Hayden

• 3 onions

• 4 garlic cloves

• 3 carrots

• 3 celery stalks

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar

• 2 cups vegetable broth

• 1¼ lbs green beans, or flat beans, or a mixture of both

• Very small bunch of mixed soft herbs (I like dill and Italian parsley)

• 1–2 tablespoons nonpareil capers

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Fresh bread or flatbread, to serve (gluten-free, if needed)

DIRECTIONS

If using fresh tomatoes, chop them into small pieces, seeds and all, and keep to one side. Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic. Peel and slice the carrots, trim and slice the celery. Pour ¼ cup of olive oil into a large saucepan; it should fill it ½ inch deep. Place over a medium heat and fry the onions, carrots and celery for 10 minutes to soften slightly, reducing the heat a little as needed. Stir in the chopped garlic, then after a couple of minutes add the tomato paste. Follow with the diced or chopped tomatoes, sugar and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut off the tops of the beans, then roughly chop them in halves and thirds, discarding any stringy spines if the flat beans have them. Stir the beans into the tomato sauce. Cover the pan and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. You don’t want it to be watery, so remove the lid and boil vigorously for a final 5–10 minutes to thicken the stew, while you chop the herbs. Season to taste and serve, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, scattered with the chopped herbs and capers, with bread or flatbread for dipping, if you like.

Excerpted from Medesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots. Used with the permission of the publisher, Bloomsbury. Text copyright © 2026 by Georgina Hayden, Photography copyright © 2026 by Laura Edwards

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