Pita gyros, Loukoumades, Tzaziki, what is your favorite Greek dish? Have you ever tried butterbeans, prepared in the Greek way? It is incredible. Also, I think there is something about the Greek fries. They are fresh, tasty, and guess what? Pretty easy to make. In this article, I share with you a Greek recipe that my Greek neighbor, Nicolina, taught me when I was in Sindos, which is right next to Thessaloniki, Greece. The recipe tells you how to prepare fresh fish out of the oven, fried potatoes, and oven-baked butterbeans in tomato sauce. Which part of this dish is your favorite?

Ingredient for the fish

• 5 large fresh fish from the market. Ask the salesman to clean it for you
• 3 lemons
• Dried thyme
• Salt
• Olive oil

Ingredients for the butterbeans in tomato sauce

• 500 grams of raw butterbeans
• 3 onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons of tomato puree
• 5 fresh tomatoes
• 1 cube of vegetable broth
• Red bell pepper powder
• Salt
• Dried mint
• Dried oregano
• Extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for the fried potatoes

• About 800 grams of potatoes
• Sunflower oil
• Salt
• Dried oregano

Tools and equipment

• Frying pan
• Cooking pan
• Oven
• 2 Baking dishes

Instructions

1. Soak the butter beans for 8 hours in a large amount of water
2. Next, cook the butterbeans for about an hour. Do make sure to keep an eye on the beans, so you won’t overcook them
3. (peel and) cut the potatoes in the classic fried potato shape
4. Soak the potatoes in water for half an hour
5. Rinse the fish with water
6. Pour some dried thyme into the open belly of the fish
7. Squeeze 1,5 lemon on the fish and add salt as well
8. Coat the baking dishes with olive oil
9. Add a bit of water and then place the fish into the baking dishes
10. Turn the oven on 200 degrees hot air and put the fish in the oven for about 45 minutes
11. Next, finely chop the onions and squeeze/finely chop the garlic cloves
12. Bake them onions and garlic in olive oil
13. Add two teaspoons of tomato puree
14. Chop the tomatoes and add those as well
15. Add red bell pepper powder, dried mint, be generous with the dried oregano, the cube of vegetable broth, and if needed a bit of salt
16. Add one cup of water
17. Put the sauce and the soaked butterbeans in a baking dish and place the dish in the oven
18. Put a large amount of sunflower oil in the frying pan and wait until it’s hot. You can test the temperature by tipping a potato fry in the oil to see if it starts boiling
19. Fry the potatoes
20. Check whether the fish and butterbeans are ready. You know they are ready when the fish is soft and the butterbeans boiled for a bit
21. Top off the fries with dried oregano and salt, garnish the fish with sliced lemons and pour a bit of extra virgin olive oil on top of the butterbeans

And there you go. A classic Greek recipe for fish out of the oven, butterbeans, fried potatoes. Enjoy 😉