Green beans stew in the classic Greek way

Under the collective name of "Ladera" (oily) this is one of the most popular vegetarian dishes of the Greek cuisine. Thanks to the deep frost it is a recipe that you can enjoy anytime in the year but nothing beats the fresh green beans. Thinking of all the vegetarian/vegan dishes we have in the Greek cuisine, it is amazing how we are considered as a rather big meat-lover nation!! Which is not a lie... but it seems that we manage to ballance things out in the end

Ingredients (for 4 people):
1Kg of fresh green beans (runner or string beans or other type), washed and trimmed
1 large yellow onion, grated
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped (optional)
2 big potatoes, cut in chunks
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (if you have fresh tomatoes, even better)
3-5 tbsp of olive oil
½ bunch of flat-fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt
black pepper
1 tsp of sugar
 
Procedure:
In a large pot warm the oil in medium heat and sauté the onion until soft but not brown. Add the beans and the parsley. Stir the veggies while you sauté them.

Add enough lukewarm water to cover the beans, put the lid on and leave the food to cook for about 15 minutes. Then, add the potato chunks, the tomatoes, the sugar, salt and pepper.

Cover the pot again and leave the food to cook in medium heat for about 45 minutes or until the veggies are soft and most of the liquids are evaporated so to end up with a nice thick-ish tomato sauce.

Feta cheese and fresh bread are the best friends of this vegetarian dish!

Note:
This recipe can be combined very nicely with beef or veal. Using the same cooking method, add the beans and the potatoes in the saucepan when the meat is almost cooked. And when you sauté the meat in the beginning, beside the onion, you can also add some finely chopped garlic.