Fresh green beans braised slowly with onion, tomato and abundant olive oil until silky, then served at room temperature. A cornerstone of Turkey's meatless zeytinyağlı (olive-oil) dishes.
A classic of the Aegean and Marmara olive-oil vegetable tradition, naturally vegan and eaten cold as a meze or light meal (Ozlem's Turkish Table, A Kitchen in Istanbul).
The beans are meltingly soft and slick with grassy olive oil, carrying a gentle sweetness from long-cooked onion and tomato. Eaten cold, it is refreshing and clean, the olive oil tasting almost like a sauce.
Slow braising in abundant olive oil breaks down the beans' fibres and pectin so they turn silky rather than crisp, while the oil carries fat-soluble flavours. Cooling lets the emulsion of oil and tomato juices set and the flavours meld, which is why these dishes are served cold.
Variations
With runner or flat beans; a squeeze of lemon before serving; some add carrot or potato; garlic-laced versions.
On the Palate
Where Zeytinyağlı Taze Fasulye sits in the Turkish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 18 min
Trim the green beans and snap or cut them into lengths.
- 27 min
Soften sliced onion in plenty of olive oil over low heat.
Watch outSweat the onion slow and gentle until soft and translucent — no browning, or it turns bitter in the oil.
- 33 min
Add grated or diced tomato and a little tomato paste.
- 42 min
Stir in the beans to coat them in the oil and tomato.
- 51 min
Add a pinch of sugar, salt and a splash of hot water.
- 640 min
Cover and braise gently until the beans are very tender and silky.
Watch outBraise until the beans go floppy and silky, well past crisp — these want to be meltingly soft.
- 730 min
Let the pan cool to room temperature so the flavours deepen.
Watch outLet it cool fully in the pan — that resting is when the oil and tomato meld and the flavour rounds out.
- 82 min
Serve cold, drizzled with a little extra olive oil.
