Ingredients for Olive Oil and Garlic Green Bean Stew
- 1 kg (about 2 lbs) fresh green beans
- 1 tablespoon salça (Turkish tomato/pepper paste — tomato paste)
- 3 long green peppers, diced
- 1 dry onion, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 sugar cubes
- 1 dessert spoon (about 2 tsp) salt
- 1 tea glass (about 100 ml / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) olive oil
How to Make Olive Oil and Garlic Green Bean Stew
Wash 1 kg (about 2 lbs) of fresh green beans. Remove the stringy edges using a knife or a peeler. Once the edges are trimmed, cut the beans in half lengthwise. Then cut each half horizontally in the middle. Prepare all the green beans this way and place them in a bowl.
Place 1 diced dry onion into a deep pot. Add 3 diced long green peppers and stir until their moisture evaporates. Once the moisture is gone, add 1 tea glass (about 100 ml / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) of olive oil to the pot. Sauté the onion and peppers in the olive oil until nicely cooked.
Finely chop 2 garlic cloves and add them to the pot. Once the onion, garlic, and peppers are sautéed, add 1 tablespoon of salça (Turkish tomato paste). Stir briefly, then add 2 diced tomatoes.
Stir the tomatoes for a moment, then add 1 dessert spoon (about 2 tsp) of salt and 2 sugar cubes. Add the prepared green beans on top.
Mix all the ingredients well, then add just enough water to cover. Close the lid of the pot and let it cook on low heat.
Once cooked, transfer to a serving dish and let it cool. Serve once it has cooled down. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
The most important rule with green beans is to clean the strings very thoroughly. Before cooking, run a knife along the edges of each bean to make sure they are completely trimmed.
If they are in season, be sure to use ripe, juicy field tomatoes. Letting the dish cook slowly in the tomatoes' own juices will double the flavor.
Sugar cubes — a must for olive oil dishes — balance the acidity of the beans and give your dish that classic olive oil sheen.
Olive oil dishes don't reach their true flavor on the day they are cooked, but after resting in the refrigerator for a day. For this reason, you can prepare it a day in advance and let it rest in the fridge if you like.
Before serving, you can drizzle a little extra extra-virgin olive oil on top.
What Goes Best with Olive Oil Green Beans?
It's legendary served alongside Pearl Barley Orzo Pilaf! Click for the Recipe!
