Balkan-Style Green Bean Stew is a wonderfully simple and easy rustic dish made with tender pork, crunchy green beans and juicy potatoes, beautifully flavoured with fragrant sweet paprika and savoury spice. The stew is a fantastic comfort dish and can be prepared as a vegan option if you omit the meat in this recipe.

HISTORY AND VARIATIONS OF THE BALKAN-STYLE GREEN BEAN STEW.

The recipe for my Green Bean Stew comes from the Southern Balkans. Even though I don’t have much information about its origins, I know from my granny that is an old traditional family recipe.

The original version of the stew was a vegetarian dish cooked in times when meat was scarce. Nowadays, it’s commonly prepared as a meat stew with tender pork or chicken breasts.

HOW TO MAKE THIS GREEN BEAN STEW?

📋 INGREDIENTS IN MY GREEN BEAN STEW

Meat: This recipe calls for lean pork. A piece of pork fillet works best. However, if you don’t eat pork or prefer to make this recipe with chicken, use chicken breast. You can also prepare this dish as a vegetarian option if you omit the meat.

Vegetables: Common stew root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic create a wonderful texture and add flavour to the dish.

Tomatoes: I use fresh ripe tomatoes in my recipe. They add texture and a slight acidity to the dish.

Onion: The traditional recipe calls for yellow onion, but shallots can work well too. They have a natural sweetness and delicate flavour that can benefit the dish.

Oil: The vegetable cooking oil in this recipe can be substituted with cooking olive oil. Olive oil adds more flavour.

Spices: Typically, what makes the stew a Balkan-style dish are the spices. Sweet paprika and savoury are traditional spices that define the Southern Balkan cuisines. Bay leaf and black pepper are also important in this stew.

What paprika to use?

Sweet paprika is essential for the authentic flavours of this dish. I highly recommend sourcing the best quality sweet paprika you can get.

Hungarian sweet paprika is widely available in the UK, but it’s worth knowing that the Balkan sweet paprika tastes very much the same. That’s because the Hungarian sweet paprika is made with the same variety of sweet red peppers. They originated in the Balkans and were introduced to Hungary by the Turks. As Bulgarian paprika is rarely available in the UK, I spend a good penny for the best Hungarian sweet paprika I can source here. I promise you, it’s worth spending a little more to get good quality sweet paprika! 

What is Savoury Spice?

Savoury is an authentic Bulgarian herb. To make the spice, it’s dehydrated or dried. The savoury herb is related to the Rosemary, Sage, and Mint plants. There are two varieties of savoury that taste slightly different. They are Summer and Winter Savoury.

Summer Savoury is sweet and spicy, while Winter Savoury has a strong taste, with a hint of pine and sage. Summer Savoury is commonly used for making spiced salt that is really good sprinkled over butter toast or flatbread, and Winter Savoury is great in stews. It’s perfect for my Sausage and Bean Stew.

Savoury spice is not widely popular in the West, but you can find it online or in international shops. Some supermarket chains, like Sainsbury’s, stock savoury spice. I highly recommend using winter savoury in your cooking. It’s my favourite spice.

📖 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

This stew is not difficult to prepare. Anyone can make it at home with a few simple ingredients. First, make sure you have the spices! They are of great importance for this dish. Even if you cannot find savoury spice, using sweet paprika is essential.

Step 1: Gather ALL ingredients for the stew

Cut the meat into medium-sized cubes. Peel the onion and the garlic. Chop the onions finely and cut the garlic into large chunks. 

Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized cubes. Place the cubed potatoes in a large bowl of cold water to realise excess starch and keep them fresh.

Wash the green beans well and trim the ends. Cut the green beans into 2-3 pieces. Peel the tomato and dice it finely. Alternatively, grate the tomato on a large grater into a bowl.

Chopping the ingredients into chunky pieces will give the dish a rustic appearance.

Step 2: Par-cook the green beans

In the Balkans, we like our green beans well cooked but crunchy. To preserve the crunchiness in green beans, place them in boiling water for a few minutes, then immediately transfer them to your sink and cool them under cold running water. Place the beans in a bowl of water and ice until you need them.

As an alternative, you can use green beans from a can in this recipe. It is quick and easy to cook with canned ingredients. If you want to try canning green beans at home, view my post How to can green beans.

Step 3: BROWN the meat IN THE STEW PAN

Add the cubed meat to a heavy-based casserole or stew pot. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the meat juices evaporate and reduce. Stir occasionally.

Drop a bay leaf in the stew pot with the meat. Bay leaf will help the meat to cook quicker. It also contains enzymes that break down the proteins in the meat making it easier to digest.

When the meat is browned, transfer it onto a plate and leave aside.

Step 4: Saute the onion and garlic

Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed casserole dish on your hob. Drop a piece of onion in the oil to check if the oil is ready for cooking. When bubbles appear around the piece, add the rest of the onions to the hot oil and sauté them until the onions are translucent. Then, add the garlic to the pot and cook it for a couple of minutes to release flavour.

Add the browned meat to the stew pot and stir to combine with the cooked onion and garlic. Let it sauté for a couple of minutes to absorb flavours from the onion.

Step 5: saute the vegetables and the paprika

Add the chopped tomato, the drained green beans and the potatoes to the stew pot with the meat and stir to combine all ingredients.

Sauté the vegetables with the meat for a few minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure all ingredients and flavours are combined.

When the juices from the vegetables reduce, add the sweet paprika, stir to coat the vegetables in the spice and sauté them for a few seconds.

Step 6: Add the stock and SPICES to the PAN

Add the vegetable stock and the rest of the dry spices (savoury spice and freshly cracked black pepper). If the vegetable stock does not contain salt, add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir the stew well.

Bring the stock to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.

Step 7: Thicken the Stew

In the recipe, I make the stew thicker with plain flour. The thickness of the stew relates to how much flour you use. Normally, one heaped tablespoon is enough.

Do not add flour directly to the pot with the stew. First, add the flour and a few ladles of hot stock from the stew in a bowl and whisk until the flour is integrated. Make sure to break all lumps in the mixture with a spoon, then add it to the dish.

Reduce the heat and let the stew simmer for 30 minutes. Cook until the potatoes are soft. You can check if the potatoes are cooked with a fork.

Taste the dish and, if required, add more salt.

🍲 SERVE THE GREEN BEAN STEW

Season the Green Bean Stew with freshly cracked pepper and garnish it with finely chopped fresh parsley. Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Bon Appetit! 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳