A delicious vegan IBS friendly, low fodmap version of a beloved childhood favourite of mine – braised Turkish green beans! This green bean stew is made with only 5 ingredients and 30 minutes and can be eaten hot or cold!
Braised Turkish green beans were one of my absolute favourite Turkish dishes as a child. So much so that earlier this year I phoned up my step-mother to get her recipe; a simple but delicious mix of onion, garlic, tomatoes, green beans and water, cooked with plenty of olive oil. I was diagnosed with IBS after only cooking it a couple of times, unfortunately. So I got to work making a delicious IBS friendly, low fodmap, 5 ingredient version of this green bean stew.
Now, I won’t pretend to know too much about the low FODMAP diet because the sources out there are a little more than confusing. Honestly, it can quickly become overwhelming with the differing information.
This is definitely something I’m planning on learning more about though. So you can count on a lot more gut-friendly, IBS friendly and low FODMAP recipe style posts coming up.
If IBS has done one positive thing, it’s made me more aware of what I’m putting in my body. It’s also increased my interest in gut health and the connection between gut health and mental health- which is fascinating.
How I made this Turkish green bean stew recipe low fodmap:
One thing I have learnt in my FODMAP research is that there are certain ingredients that seem to bother the majority of IBS sufferers. These include onion and garlic. Unfortunately, the traditional recipe for this tomatoey green bean stew only has a few ingredients. Two of them being onion and garlic!
Not to mention that I pretty much added both of these ingredients to EVERYTHING before my diagnosis. At the moment I am limiting my intake as much as possible before going through the FODMAP elimination diet.
Once I’ve figured out my triggers, I’m hoping I can reintroduce these into my diet again – Cross your fingers for me!
Luckily, I managed to make a couple of FODMAP swaps! After some tests, I’ve made a 5 ingredient green bean stew recipe that is just as delicious but without the onion and garlic. Yay!
How, did I do it? With garlic-infused olive oil! The magic low-fodmap garlic swap that has become a firm favourite of mine in the last couple of months. It does mean that I’ve been using a little more oil in my cooking than usual. However, I’m here to tell you that that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
In fact, Extra virgin olive oil is pretty darn special!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) Health Benefits:
Extra virgin olive oil is packed with antioxidants and nutrients -including plant chemicals polyphenols and phytochemicals- that can benefit brain, heart and even gut health!
For this braised Turkish green bean dish, the ingredients are slowly stewed in water and the garlic-infused olive oil. This method actually provides another healthy-benefit of the oil.
How? Well apparently, when cooking tomatoes in olive oil, the oil allows our body to better absorb the antioxidant lycopene. Lycopine protects against oxidative stress to the body, is beneficial to heart health, lowers the risk of certain cancers and is also good for your skin’s defence against sun rays.
This braised Turkish green beans dish is super simple to make but so delicious. The slow stewing of green beans with tomatoes, olive oil and the various other ingredients completely transforms the individual flavours of this green bean dish into something completely addictive. It never lasts longer than a single meal in this apartment!
How to serve this braised Turkish green bean dish:
Eat this dish hot or cold and it’s delicious. If eating cold, this gives time for the flavours to fully develop.
If you’re wanting to eat it cold – You can serve it along with Greek or Turkish yogurt. I also love to serve it as a topping for sourdough bread as a nice vegan snack. The tomatoey juices soak into the bread and it’s DELICIOUS!
To serve it hot – I always love it alongside a grain, such as rice or polenta. Top the beans with some parsley and sliced lemon wedges if wanted.
The Braised Turkish Green Bean Dish Recipe:
Low FODMAP Braised Turkish Green Beans
Ingredients
- 3 Large tomatoes
- 1 tbsp red pepper paste or tomato paste
- 3-4 tbsp garlic olive oil
- 1 can green beans (450g can, drained) or 350g fresh
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 can new potatoes or 100g fresh new potatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/8 tsp pepper or to taste
- parsley and lemon wedges to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Begin by finely dicing the tomatoes
- In a pan, add a tbsp of the garlic-infused olive oil and the pepper paste ( or tomato paste) over medium heat and stir to combine. Saute for a couple of minutes.
- Drain the green beans from their can and add to the pan along with the tomatoes and mix well.Lightly fry for a couple of minutes then drizzle over the rest of the oil, salt, sugar (if using) & water. If adding new potatoes, add them at this point too.
- Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.*You can serve the beans immediately or leave to cool till room temperature, when the flavors are fully developed, and serve with some bread or mezze dishes.
Notes
As always, I’d LOVE to see your results, so if you try the recipe out then let me know. Feel free to tag me in any pics @MemoirsSoLuciie and #MSLuciierecipes.
Till next time,
And as always: To pin this braised Turkish green bean dish for later!
