Italian Green Beans & Potato Stew – an easy, simple (vegan) stew with Italian flat green beans and potatoes. A Mediterranean & Balkan style dinner with just 8 ingredients that can be prepared in a slow cooker as well. Simple, from scratch dinner, that can be served in hot weather as well.
Today we’re whipping up a quick and cheerful little stew – some might even call it basic, but in the best way. My grandmother used to make it every spring and autumn, right when the Italian flat green beans in her garden were at their best. It all comes together in a single pot on the stove top – easy peasy.
FAN OF GREEN BEANS: TRY MY RECIPE FOR: French Green Beans with sesame seeds.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Italian green beans – a variety of snap green beans that look flat and long. Make sure to buy younger beans that sound crunchy (and are not soft) when you snap them.
- Potatoes – old, starchy or red-skinned potatoes work best.
- Onions – any type work well.
- Tomato paste – or tomato puree from a jar/canned.
- Olive oil – or any other vegetable oil, or even pork lard.
- Flour – for thickening stew or cornstarch if you need the meal to be gluten-free.
- Water – or broth for the sauce.
- Spices: fresh dill, salt and black pepper, paprika.
How to cook green beans & potato stew?
1st: Sauté onions in olive oil, add chopped potatoes and green beans. Sauté further and add flour to thicken (and some water as needed). Stir frequently for 2-4 minutes.
2nd: Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and let simmer. 5 minutes before removing from stove top season with fresh dill and all remaining spices. Serve.
What are Italian Green beans?
Italian green beans, also known as Romano beans or Italian flat beans, are a type of bean characterized by their broad, flat shape and a green color. They are tender and flavorful with a slightly sweeter taste compared to regular green beans. These beans are commonly used in Italian cuisine (as well as in other Mediterranean countries or the Balkans as well), often sautéed with garlic and olive oil or incorporated into pasta dishes and salads.
BEHIND THE BITES: Legend has it, Green Beans, as a type of snap beans were originally domesticated in Central and South America, particularly in Mexico and the Andes over 7,000 years ago. They were brought to Europe by Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries. Once introduced to Europe, beans became widely adopted thanks to their adaptability and compatibility with a variety of local cuisines. In the Balkans, flat green beans found a receptive environment – both agriculturally and culturally.
Italian Green Beans and Potato Stew
Equipment
- 1 cooking pot with lid
- 1 cutting board & knife
Ingredients
- 300 g flat Italian green beans
- 2 medium potatoes, old/red
- 1 large onion, minced
- 1-2 tbsp. flour, GF if needed
- 2 tbsp. paprika
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 tbsp. fresh dill, minced
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 liter water (vegetable broth) for stew, more or less as needed
Instructions
- First, in a large cooking pot with lid sauté minced onions in olive oil (low heat) until translucent.
- Add chopped potatoes and flat Italian green beans & sauté further for a few minutes while stirring to prevent it from burning. Add some water as needed.
- Next, add flour and paprika, tomato paste and water (vegetable broth). Let simmer until cooked.
- Season generously with black pepper and sea salt to taste, add fresh dill and let simmer for additional for 5 before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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My mother made it with regular green beans, chicken broth, diced bacon that was lightly browned first in the pot with the onions, garlic, and added a a little finely diced celery leaves and oregano. She never used paprika on anything, and, if it was an Italian dish, it HAD to have garlic. It was a mortal sin to not use garlic.
According to my father, who was born and raised not far from Naples, it was nearly impossible to have too much garlic.
My grandfather, Nuncio, would have garlic lightly cooked in olive oil as a snack with a hunk of Italian bread. And he lived to be 90 years old, still taking walks through the neighborhood almost every day.
Thank you for sharing your family’s version, it sounds delicious indeed. When my kids start to appreciate the taste or garlic I will definitely try it.
Loved this! A few slight variations – used ketchup because we didn’t have tomato paste, used baby new potatoes and boiled them a little while chopping the other stuff because I didn’t intend to simmer the dish long (wanted our special locally organically grown romano beans to stay green and slightly crispy), added sliced foodies vegan chorizo to the dish toward the end, Note: onions are lot listed in the ingredient list but are in the instructions (I used about 1/3 cup diced tender fresh CSA onion). Hearty, filling, delicious vegan dinner, thank you!
Thank you for sharing and apologies, I must have missed to add onion in the Ingredients list (now corrected). Your version sounds very delicious!