KURU FASULYE (TURKISH BEAN STEW) LOCKDOWN CUPBOARD MEALS V.1
KURU FASULYE (TURKISH BEAN STEW) LOCKDOWN CUPBOARD MEALS V.1
I was asked by Vision Vegan Festival to share a dish to help inspire some meal ideas through lockdown, something cheap, minimal ingredients and healthy. First thing that came to mind was Kuru Fasulye a basic bean and tomato stew, it’s a really lovely comforting dish and something that feels like home for me. Living and travelling around Turkey throughout my childhood, my dad always took us to explore and eat in cheap local cafe’s called lokanters, we ate with locals, they loved seeing us try the food and we loved our food and cultural experiences. This dish is a classic stable in Turkey, its filling, cheap, and healthy usually served with bread, maybe a salad or yogurt too. Most households will live on this kind of dish and there are lots of lokanters that specialise in stews and soups. One of the reasons I love this dish is it shows how you can eat healthy on a super low budget, for some reason in the west we have been conditioned to think eating cheap means processed freezer food NOT TRUE. I know everyone has stocked up on pulses, rice and tinned goods, so I used the same along with some fresh essentials. Mine is organic - cost around £4 to make £1 per person. ALSO ITS QUICK!! Traditionally this dish is made with skinned tomatoes or just puree I have used butterbeans and plum tomatoes, a touch of mint and fresh coriander, usually parsley is used.
Serves 2-3
Stew
1 x tin (400g) butterbeans (mr organic)
1 x tin (400g) plum tomatoes (mr organic)
1 handful fresh spinach
3 sprigs fresh coriander
2 garlic cloves
1 white onion
1 tablespoon puree
2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon honey OR coconut sugar(take the acidity down a touch)
2 tablespoon coconut oil OR rapeseed oil
1 vegan stock cube
himalayan salt
cracked black pepper
Garnishes
Squeeze lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, pul biber or chilli flakes
Rice
1 cups white basmati rice
1 vegan stock cube
pinch himalayan salt
Method
Finely chop onion and garlic, sweat down in a frying pan with oil low medium heat once its started to sweat a little add you paprika and half your salt and all your pepper. Drain the beans from the tin and give them a wash in a colander add to the pan let them take in some heat and spice from paprika before adding in your tomatoes. Add tin tomatoes along with spinach, stock cube and honey - this is to take the acidity down a touch. Wash you rice in cold water a few times to remove the starch. In a saucepan add your salt and coconut oil very low heat to melt oil, then add your rice and give it a stir let it get kissed by the heat very slightly. For two cups of rice you need 4 cups of boiling water, add your stock to you boiling water then add into the saucepan bring it to the boil quickly then lid on and drop the heat just over half way.
Tip
Pul biber is a turkish chilli flake which is also the same aleppo chilli flakes.