Mediterranean Green Beans (Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye in Turkish) is a popular vegetarian/vegan dish that is cooked quite often in most Turkish homes during the summer. This simple yet delicious dish can be made beforehand and usually served warm or at room temperature. All you need is green beans, ripen summer tomatoes, onions, and good quality olive oil to cook this summer dish.
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Turkish Green Beans are usually considered as a side dish or meze. You can also serve it as a main dish along with Turkish Rice Pilaf, Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf (Mercimekli Bulgur Pilavi) or Bulgur Pilaf.
Why This Recipe Works?
- You can make this Turkish style runner beans a couple of days ahead.
- It keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- You need a few basic fridge ingredients to make this healthy and delicious fasulye dish.
- It is very easy to make with step-by-step pictures and instructions.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Green beans - This dish is typically cooked with runner beans. However, there are about over 130 different varieties around the world and you can use any type you prefer.
- Tomatoes - Red & juicy summer tomatoes are always the best option but you can use any type of tomatoes you have in hand. If you want to use tinned tomatoes, make sure you add some sugar to balance the acidity.
- Onions - You can use white, brown or yellow onion.
- Olive oil - It is an important ingredient to achieve the best taste in olive oil-based dishes.
- Garlic - It gives a great flavour to this simple bean dish. Finely chop or grate using a Microplane zester before adding it to the dish.
- Tomato paste - It is the staple of Turkish cooking. It adds an umami flavour to the dishes as well as a bright red colour. Skip it if you are using juicy red summer tomatoes. You can find tomato paste in Turkish or Middle Eastern shops. You can also buy it online from Amazon.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Making this delicious dish is very simple with a few easy steps that you need to follow:
- Prepare the beans - The green beans are nice, crunchy, low-calorie food and they provide many key nutrients and they are full of vitamins. There are about over 130 different varieties around the world and you can use any type you like. It is very easy to prepare and trim the beans and only takes few minutes if using fine beans. Simply snap off the stem ends and cut in halves. If you use a wider variety such as Romano beans or Pantheon beans, I would suggest you split them in half lengthways after snapping the stems off then cut them in 2-3 pieces.
- Prepare the tomato base- Place a Dutch oven or heavy-based pan on low heat, add olive oil and gently cook the onions with garlic until translucent. This should take about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste if using and cook for a minute before adding the tomatoes. If you have juicy red tomatoes, don't add any tomato paste.
- Add the beans and gently simmer - Turn the heat up to medium then add the beans, salt, sugar, freshly ground black pepper and vegetable stock or water (if using). You won't need to add water if you are using juicy ripen tomatoes. Bring the pan to a boil, lower the heat and gently simmer for an hour or until the beans are soft. Leave it to cool down for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Related Recipes
For more scrumptious & easy Turkish recipes why not try:
This delicious braised bean dish is great as a side dish as well as the main meal. It is also considered a meze. The most common way to serve it is at room temperature but you can serve it warm if you like. Taze Fasulye is a delicious vegan dish and can be served as a meal with a bowl of salad such as Tabbouleh, Summer Chickpea Salad, or Tomato and Walnut Salad (Gavurdagi Salatasi).
You can store Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye in the fridge, in a sealed container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for longer shelf life, for up to 3 months.
One portion of this healthy Mediterranean dish has only 148 kcal per portion.
Top Tip From the Chef
Use fresh, young beans for this delicious Taze Fasulye dish. Also using red and juicy summer tomatoes will increase the flavor.
I hope you enjoy the process of making these Turkish Green Beans as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!
Mediterranean Green Beans (Taze Fasulye)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional, skip if you have red juicy summer tomatoes)
- 500 g tomatoes (grated or blitzed using a food processor)
- 500 g green beans (snap off the stem ends and cut in halves)
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup vegetable stock or water (optional, skip if you have juicy ripen tomatoes)
Instructions
- Snap off the stem ends of the beans and cut in halves if using fine French beans.
- If you use a wider variety such as Romano beans or Pantheon beans, split them in half lengthways after snapping the stems off then cut in 2-3 pieces.
- Place a Dutch oven or heavy-based pan on low heat, add olive oil and gently cook the onions along with the garlic until soft and translucent.
- Add the tomato paste (optional) and cook for a minute before adding the tomatoes.
- Turn the heat up to medium then add the beans, salt, sugar, freshly ground black pepper, and water (if using).
- Bring the pan to a boil, lower the heat and gently simmer for an hour or until the beans are soft.
- Leave it to cool down for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
FOOD SAFETY
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
Ayla
DELICIOUS! I served it over couscous and with a pita. Yum! Thanks so much!
Ali
Amazing recipe for fresh green beans! It was super easy and yummy.
Ayla Clulee
That’s amazing! So glad you made it and enjoyed it!
Justin
Delicious and easy recipe. There’s so much flavour. Beans never tasted so good!
Tom
This recipe was easy and came out beautiful. Didn't change a thing. Delicious and affordable.
Chloe
This was insanely good. We all went for seconds.
Laila
I’m making this for the second time. Damn was that good!! May repeat that today!!
Valerie
The dish was amazingly good. My husband absolutely loved it. And this is just as good if not better the next day. I can't wait to make this with fresh green beans from the garden!
Ayla Clulee
That’s wonderful Valerie! So happy to hear. Enjoy!