Recipes
Turkish Olive Oil-Braised Green Beans
This Aegean standby is saucy, velvety, and nourishing—no stirring required.
- Serves
4
- Time
45 minutes
Nearly any vegetable can benefit from the zeytinyağli treatment—a slow braise in olive oil and aromatics—especially this Turkish green bean recipe, highlighted in Anya von Bremzen's “10 Must-Try Dishes That Capture the Essence of Istanbul.” Experiment with whatever produce you have on hand using the ratio 3:2:1:1: three garlic cloves to 2 lb. trimmed vegetables (such as peas or coarsely chopped zucchini or leafy greens) to 1 large onion to 1 large plum tomato.
Featured in “Zeytinyağli 101” by Benjamin Kemper in the Spring/Summer 2025 issue. See more stories from Issue 204 here.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. romano or string beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2-in. lengths
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 large plum tomato, peeled and cut into ½-in. chunks
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
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Instructions
Step 1
To a large pot, add the beans, oil, salt, sugar, garlic, tomato, onion, and ½ cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the beans are soft and the tomatoes have broken down, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool in the pot. Serve warm or chilled, drizzled with more oil to taste.
- To a large pot, add the beans, oil, salt, sugar, garlic, tomato, onion, and ½ cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the beans are soft and the tomatoes have broken down, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool in the pot. Serve warm or chilled, drizzled with more oil to taste.
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