Green bean stew is slow-cooked helping in marrying all the flavors together, giving you a heartwarming stew at the end of a very hard day. This is a great comfort food. Traditionally, it is made with flat Roma green beans, but since those are not always available, regular green beans are just as fantastic.
Jump to RecipeINGREDIENTS
- Green beans
- Chuck roast beef, or stew beef
- Onion
- Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Ground coriander ground coriander is super essential for the flavor of this dish. This green bean stew will not be complete without it.
- Black pepper
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt or to taste
- Boiling water
- Olive oil
UNTENSILS
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Medium Heavy bottom stockpot
- Wooden Spoon
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
CHOOSING THE TYPE OF GREEN BEANS FOR THE STEW
When you are deciding which green bean to use for your green bean stew, you can choose between two types. The regular every day green bean, or the flat Roma green beans.
Flat beans tend to be a bit broader, slightly tougher when fresh, and a bit stringy. However, the stringiness can be easily taken care of when prepping the beans.
Flat Roma beans might take a bit longer to cook than the average green bean. You might want to cook them a bit longer before you add any ingredients to them, and also after all the ingredients are added to them.
Traditionally, it was the flat Roma green beans that were used in this dish, since after all, this is a Mediterranean dish. However, since it is difficult to find these beans in the store, the regular green beans can be a good candidate for this dish as well.
PREPPING THE BEANS FOR THE GREEN BEAN STEW
To prep the green beans for cooking, first give them a good rinse under cold water to remove any dirt, grass, or anything that might be stuck to them.
Once that’s done, remove the ends on both sides of the beans. If you are using regular green beans, you don’t need to destring them because they tend to be pretty tender and not stringy.
If you are using flat Roma green beans, you will need to string the beans on both ends. You do this by snapping the end, and then pulling the snapped end along side of the bean. These strings can be very tough to chew, so it is important to remove them first before cooking.
You can now either snap or cut the beans into halves or thirds.
If you are using flat Roma beans, you’ll need to cut the beans lengthwise first before you cut them into halves or thirds. Cutting this type of bean length wise, in the middle, will give you a better flavor, and a more tender bean.
CAN I USE A SLOW COOKER TO MAKE GREEN BEAN STEW
You can definitely use this recipe as a crockpot recipe. You’ll still want to stir fry most of the ingredients except the tomatoes before you add them into the crock-pot.
stir-frying the beef, onions, and green beans will give you the same flavors as if you were to cook this green bean stew over the stovetop.
Slow cooking this stew will actually enhance the flavors, especially if you stir fry the ingredients before you add them in because of the slow cooking method.
During slow cooking the flavors slowly meld into each other, and everything gets perfectly tender.
After you’ve added everything into the crockpot, you can cook it on low for 6 to 8 hours.
WHAT BEEF CUT SHOULD I USE FOR THE STEW
My favorite cuts for stews is the chuck roast. The marbling effect that they have causes the meat to be super tender because it separates the muscle strands from each other.
However, I also use whatever is available. Beef can be very expensive sometimes, especially in todays economy.
So if you are using a cut of meat that is not meant for stew. Cut it lengthwise following the grain of the meat. The “grain” is the lines that you see in a big chunk of meat. They resemble wood grain.
If you cut along those lines, length wise about 1 inch wide pieces, and then chop it into cubes opposite the grain, you will end up with a tender cut of meat regardless of the type of meat that you have purchased.
I follow this same technique all the time, and I always end up with tender meat, plus it saves me money.
HOW TO SERVE GREEN BEAN STEW
The traditional way of serving this dish is by serving it over rice with vermicelli. You can find this gluten free recipe on PeacefulLivingNH.com, by clicking the link above.
This dish can also be served with some toasted bread without the rice. You can choose your pick of the many gluten free bread recipes that I have for you right here.
LOOKING FOR MORE RECIPES
Rustic Swiss Chard Tart – Gluten Free
Mediterranean Okra Stew With Beef
Mediterranean Beef Kofta Kabobs – Beef Kafta
Shish Tawook Mediterranean Chicken Shish Kabob Recipe
Green Bean Stew
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Medium Heavy bottom stockpot
- Wooden Spoon
- Measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 2 pounds green beans
- 1 pound chuck roast, or stew beef cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 large onion diced into small pieces
- 1 ½ cups diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon salt or to taste
- 4 cups of boiling water
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
Instructions
- Before you begin, you’ll want to prepare your green beans. Rinse the beans under cold water. Remove the ends on both sides of the beans. Snap them into thirds, or about 2 and a half-inch each. If the beans are fat, you’ll want to slice them down in the middle lengthwise (like French beans). Set them aside until you’re ready to use them.
- Into a medium stockpot add in the olive oil. Place the pot onto medium heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the cubed beef to the pot. Brown for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Once the beef has been browned, add the chopped onions, and cook until they’re translucent. About 3 to 5 minutes. Stirring frequently.
- Add the minced garlic, and the ground coriander and cook for 3 minutes, or until the garlic is aromatic.
- Add the green beans into the pot containing the beef, onions, and garlic. Cook on medium-high for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the diced tomatoes. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and let it cook for 25 minutes.
- Add the 4 cups of boiling water or enough to cover the green beans with about ¼ to a ½ inch of water. Add in the cinnamon, salt, and black pepper into the pot. Turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 25 to 40 minutes or until the beef and the green beans are tender.
- Serve over Mediterranean rice, or you could have it as a “soup” with a piece of gluten-free bread on the side.
Video
Notes
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