The past few days have been all about visitors from London. I couldn’t be happier to see some of the old faces. They also inspired me for my next post: sausage and mash! A British classic with a very Greek interpretation.

Head straight to the recipe

In line with the challenges for Vima food blog awards competition, this dish combines them both: frugal recipes with humble ingredients and re-using yesterday’s dish in a way nobody would have thought it’s been reheated. I re-used my fasolada, the traditional Greek bean soup, turned it into mash and complemented it with beef sausage and sauté peppers, a popular Greek stir fry, known as spetsofai around here.

I wrote my fasolada post last year, taking the cue from our national holiday. It’s a simple and hearty dish I revisit often. Admittedly, reusing fasolada into bean mash is a bit more interesting than the plain old soup. My visitors from London took me to a trip down memory lane. I certainly don’t miss the dump, chilli weather. Well, perhaps, the thrilling foggy evenings. I do miss good times around the table with friends and heart-warming dishes. So here we go: sausage and mash! A homage to a humble British classic with a Greek twist.

Greek sausage and mash

adapted by Nikos Giannopoulos, Executive Chef at NJV Athens Plaza

Ingredients

For the fasolada, aka bean soup:

• 250 gr of common beans
• 1 large tomato grated or 250 ml of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp of concentrated tomato paste
• 4 medium stalks of celery
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 onion
• 1 tsp paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the spetsofai:

• 4 beef sausages
• 2 green peppers
• 2 red peppers
• 1 onion
• 2 ripe tomatoes, grated or 200 ml of chopped tomatoes
• 50 ml olive oil
• 50 ml white wine
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

What to do:

The soup

1. Soak your beans overnight to soften them.
2. Boil for 20-30 minutes, until half done and discard the water.
3. Soften the chopped onion, celery and carrots in a pot, then you are ready to add the beans and water.
4. Make sure your water fully covers the beans, leaving a little extra on top.
5. Simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours and season towards the end. Although not a clear soup, it should not be very thick either.

Beans purée:

1. Drain any liquids from the left-over soup.
2. Pass the beans and vegetable through a blender for a couple of minutes.
3. Reheat with a knob of butter before serving.

Sausage and peppers stir fry, aka spetsofai:

1. Finely chop the onion and peppers.
2. Sauter for a few minutes.
3. Add the sausage, sliced and let it cook through.
4. Put off with white wine, add the tomatoes and thyme.

Ta da! Ready to serve with your Greek sausage and mash.

PS: Have you voted? The competition closes on the 14th of December. Here is the link, just click to get re-directed to my profile.

 

From Athens with love,

Eugenia

UPDATE: The competition has ended – thanks for following through, check my last competition post here.

 

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