Green Beans with Ground Beef (Kıymalı Yeşil Fasülye)

We have been really enjoying all the seasonal vegetables this summer: zucchinis, green beans, eggplant, okra, green and red peppers and of course a lot of tomatoes. Every week at least 3-4 of these vegetables are consumed in our households depending on the availability. I like to purchase them all organic and sometimes organic is not available. In that case, I purchase what is fresh and organic. Lately, organic, fresh looking green beans are available almost every week at the market I shop, so I have been purchasing them and cooking them either just with tomatoes or with tomatoes and chicken or beef. I have posted several green bean stew recipes in the past and I wanted to add another one as this is a versatile dish. This one is with ground beef. I also like it with stew meat but for my little boys, ground beef is easier to chew so I don’t have to cut the meat really small for them.

I cooked this in a Dutch oven but any type of pot will do. If you do not wish to put it in the oven, you may cook it on stove for about 1.5 hours or until the beans are tender. Traditionally, this is cooked on the stove top.

2 lbs green beans

6-7 large ripe tomatoes (peeled and diced)

1 small red onion (chopped)

3 large cloves garlic (crushed)

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup olive oil

2 1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

¼ tsp ground black pepper

6 cups water

Cut the ends of each green bean and slit in the middle without cutting through the end. The beans will split in two and stay attached at the bottom.  Take the split beans that are attached at the bottom and cut diagonally around 1 ½ inch long. In addition to cooking faster, when the beans are split in half, all the wonderful juices go inside them which produce a delicious flavor.

Heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the ground beef and stir until no longer pink. Add the onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the green beans and then the crushed garlic and stir. 

Continue to sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, paprika, cumin, ground black pepper, salt and water. Stir well.

Preheat oven to 420°F. In an oven safe pot or dutch oven, bake for 2 hours. Remove from heat and enjoy with rice.