Mediterranean Green Beans (Taze Fasulye)

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 scrumptious summer dish.

Turkish Green Beans are usually considered a side dish or meze. You can also serve it as a main dish along with Turkish Rice (Sehriyeli Pilav), Mujadara - Lebanese Lentils and Rice or Bulgur Pilavi (Turkish Bulgur Rice Pilaf).

Why This Recipe Works?

• You can make these vegetarian Turkish-style braised runner beans a couple of days ahead.

• The same as Zeytinyagli Pirasa Yemegi (Turkish Braised Leeks), Zeytinyagli Enginar Dolmasi-Stuffed Artichokes, and Zeytinyagli Kereviz Yemegi - Braised Celeriac, Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye keeps well in the fridge for up to 7 days.

• You need a few basic fridge ingredients to make this healthy and delicious fasulye dish.

• It is very easy to make this Mediterranean Green Beans recipe with step-by-step pictures and instructions.

How to Prepare Green Beans for Zeytinyagli Faulye?

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 a few minutes if using fine beans.

Simply snap off the stem ends and cut them 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 and then cut them into 2-3 pieces.

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.

• Olive oil - It is an important ingredient to achieve the best taste in olive oil-based dishes.

• Garlic - It gives a great flavor 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 flavor to the dishes as well as a bright red color. 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 by snapping off the stem ends and cutting them in halves.

Wash them, and let them drain while preparing the flavor 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.

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.

Scroll down to the recipe card for the full, printable recipe!

Top Tips From the Chef

• Use fresh, young runner beans for this delicious Taze Fasulye dish. Also using red and juicy summer tomatoes will increase the flavor.

• The cooking time might vary depending on the type and freshness of the beans you use in your Taze Fasulye recipe.

• If you can’t find runner beans, the dish also works really well with any other green beans as long as they are fresh.

How to Serve Mediterranean Green Beans?

The most common way to serve Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye is to serve it at room temperature or warm.

This delicious vegan dish can be served as a main meal with some Turkish Rice (Sehriyeli Pilav), and a bowl of salad such as Taboule (Lebanese Tabouli Salad), Indian Chickpea Salad (Chana Salad), or Tomato and Walnut Salad (Gavurdagi Salatasi).

You can serve it as a side dish along with Instant Pot Flank Steak, Mince Beef Pie, Baked Cod with Panko, Et Sote, Perde Pilavi, or Braised Beef Cheeks.

It is also considered a meze and can be served along with Cerkez Tavugu (Circassian Chicken), Arnavut Cigeri - Turkish Liver, Pacanga Boregi, and Icli Kofte (Turkish Kibbeh) as a part of a meze spread.

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more delicious Turkish vegetarian recipes why not try:

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

I hope you enjoy the process of making these Mediterranean Style Green Beans - Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂 

Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

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