Kuru Fasulye
Turkish white bean stew simmered with onion, tomato paste, pepper paste and butter until the beans are soft and the broth is thick.
Photograph credit: Kuru Fasulye by Miansari66 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
In the first cold week, when turning the oven on starts to feel like a treat and a pot on the hob does the same job, this is the dish Turkish households reach for. Kuru fasulye means dried beans, and it is served with rice and a plate of pickles.
Tinned beans make a quick version, but the stew improves with an hour of simmering. The long cooking lets the beans soften and the sauce thicken. Cook the onion in butter and oil, add the tomato paste and fry it until it darkens, then add the beans and water. Do not add salt at the start of cooking dried beans. Tinned beans are already salted, so season at the end.
Simmer gently with the lid slightly ajar. Boiling hard breaks the skins and clouds the broth.
The stew is ready when the beans are creamy and the broth coats a spoon. Serve with plain rice and pickled peppers.
How to Make Kuru Fasulye
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Heat the butter and oil in a large pan and cook the onion for 8 minutes until soft.
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Stir in the tomato paste and pepper paste and fry for 2 minutes until dark.
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Add the beans and water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, partly cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring now and then.
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Stir in the salt, pepper and mint. Add water if the stew gets too thick.
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A Few Pointers
- Fry the tomato paste until it darkens.
- Simmer gently so the beans stay whole.
- Add water if the stew thickens too much.
- Taste before salting, as tinned beans are salty.
Common Substitutions & Variations
- Fresh herbs work in place of the dried mint at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.
Pairs Well With
Plain rice · Pickled peppers · Sliced onion · Bread
Leftovers and Storage
Keeps in the fridge for 4 days. Freezes well for up to 3 months.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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