White Bean Stew with Dry Vegetables (Kuru Fasulye)

The whole idea of the stew is to feature the freshest and tastiest beans in that’s why I don’t think
that using canned white beans does justice to the recipe. In this part of the world we prepare it
from scratch, and “from scratch” aspect is not even emphasized because everyone assumes that
this is the way to do it. 

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min

Ingredients

1 cup dry white beans

4 dry tomato halves, thinly sliced
2 dry red peppers (replace with more tomato), thinly sliced
2 dry eggplant shells (replace with dry mushrooms), thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp high quality tomato paste
1 tbsp red bell pepper paste
1/2 tsp fine sea salt, or more to taste
ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

The night before: Soak the beans in 3 cups cold water. Wash the dry vegetables to remove any
dust. Soak the dry vegetables in a different bowl pouring in enough cold water to cover them.

Cook beans: Drain, rinse and drain again the soaked beans. Place in a medium cooking pot, pour
in 3 cups water, bring to a simmer and cook covered on a low heat for about 40-60 min, or until
the beans are almost done, i.e. soft but not mashed. Drain and set aside.

Make bean stew: Drain, rinse and drain again the soaked vegetables and cut into thin strips.
Meanwhile, in a medium cooking pot heat the olive oil and sauté the diced onion and minced
garlic for 3-5 min, or until turning golden. Stir in both tomato and pepper pastes. Then toss in the
thinly sliced tomato, pepper and eggplant. Finally, add the beans, pour in 2 cups water (more, if
you prefer a soupy stew) and season with salt and pepper. Cook covered on a low heat for 10 min
for the flavors to mingle. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if required. Serve as a stand-alone dish
or with plain pilaf as a garnish.

- See more at: http://www.deliciousistanbul.com/blog/2014/02/02/white-bean-stew-kuru-

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