Fossolia is an Ethiopian vegetable side dish starring green beans as its centrepiece. Unlike many other Ethiopian dishes, this one isn’t spicy, offering up a sweet complement to a complex meal. It’s really simple to make, using ingredients most people would expect to have at home, making it the perfect accompaniment to an Ethiopian spread.
Now, while I generally love my veggies with some bite in them, this dish demands they are cooked until they are very soft. And it works. While I had to move past my “no, you just can’t cook veggies for that long” bias, I must admit when veggies are cooked this soft, they develop a lovely sweetness.
Here’s how to whip up a deliciously comfort-foody veggie dish to complement an Ethiopian feast…
Flavour: Sweet, salty and savoury
Serves: 4 as a side dish
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (see here for how to mince garlic to a smooth paste)
- 2 teaspoons ginger, finely minced
- quarter teaspoon turmeric powder
- 200g green beans
- 3 carrots
- 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped (see here for how to peel a tomato)
- 1 cup water
- half teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper – to taste
Directions:
- Fry off your onion with the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok over a high heat
- Once your onions have started to colour up, add the garlic and ginger, stir, and fry for another minute
- Stir in the turmeric powder, and then toss in your beans and carrots – stir well, and fry for another minute
- Add your chopped tomatoes and salt, stir, and cook uncovered until the mixture is boiling
- Add half a cup of water, return the the boil, and then reduce heat to medium
- Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly – add the rest of the water little by little as you go
- After about 3o minutes the liquid will have evaporated and your veggies will be nice and soft – add some freshly ground black pepper, and remove from the heat
- Serve immediately with injera and other Ethiopian side dishes of your choice (for me, mesir wat goes without saying 😉 )
