Beef green beans stew (Vodino kai fasolakia yiahni)
The ingredients used
Beef green beans stew requires some simple and everyday ingredients. That includes the meat and vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. For the tomato sauce to make the beef green beans stew I used a whole jar of vegetable pasta sauce. There are already some flavourings in it and it is chunkier than the tomato passata sauces, but you can replace it with the tomato sauce of you choice.
«Γιαχνί» (Yiahni) is the word that we use in Cyprus to refer to all the meals that are cooked in a tomato sauce. I love them (with or without meat) as the sauce reduces and creates a lot of flavour, which you eventually get to enjoy with some bread and yoghurt. I have a recipe for green beans without meat on the blog as well. It is quicker to make but still delicious.
Green beans are one of my favourite vegetables to make yiahni besides green peas, which you can totally adapt the recipe for. If you were to do so just add frozen garden green peas, without thawing, instead of the green beans.
Type of beef meat used
For any type of beef stews and slow cooked dishes I tend to use chuck steak. It is usually inexpensive and readily available at the supermarket and at the butchers. You may substitute it for any other slow cooking cuts of beef you like, just be mindful that cooking times may vary.
The cooking process
Firstly for the beef green beans stew, you need to boil the meat with some garlic and seasonings until it is partly tender. This step is required, to cook the beef but also to create a flavourful beef stock. Secondly you remove the beef and reserve the beef stock that was created, as you will be adding it as part of the sauce.
Finally the rest of the ingredients are combined and the tomato sauce is allowed to thicken while all the components are getting cooked. Get your bread and start eating while it’s warm! And just a little secret… The day after like any stew or curry, this beef green beans stew tastes even better!
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- 1 kg beef chuck steak, cut in chunks (~3-4cm)
- 4 garlic cloves, halved
- 1 tsp salt or vegetable stock powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 large brown onion, chopped
- 500 g vegetable pasta sauce
- 500 g round green beans, cleaned and ends trimmed
- 3 small potatoes, quartered
- 2 medium size carrots, sliced in rounds
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Bring 2L of water to a boil, then add the cut pieces of beef, garlic, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to a medium and let it simmer for 1 hour and a half. Remove any foam formed, using a slotted spoon.
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While the beef is cooking prepare the rest of the ingredients including the onion, beans, potatoes and carrots.
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Once the time is over, use a sieve over a heatproof bowl or jug to separate the meat and stock. Set the stock and beef aside to use them later.
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Heat the olive oil in the same pot and cook the onions until softened. Then add the vegetable pasta sauce stirring it for a min or Add the cooked beef, beans, carrots and potatoes back in the pot.
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Pour enough of the reserved beef stock to help cook everything without diluting the sauce too much, about 750mStir everything together, bring to a boil and then let it simmer for 30min or until the potatoes are cooked. Once the potatoes are cooked, take the pot off the heat, cover and let it rest for 10min or so before serving.
