Oriental Three Bean Casserole

 

This is a recipe that my Mom and I spontaneously made when my brother brought home lots of fresh green long and broad flat beans. It was inspired by a Turkish green bean stew. However, as my Mom and I do love casseroles a lot, we decided to turn the bean stew into a casserole with a layer of potatoes on the bottom and on top.

For our version of the Turkish bean stew, we used ground beef, three kinds of beans and lots of oriental flavors. These included our standards such as sambal olek, harissa and biber salcasi. 

And the next time I made it, I also added a special Turkish seasoning, sumac, that I just recently acquired. It has a slightly fruity and tangy flavor and adds a tart, lemony taste. If you don't have it, don't worry, it's optional. The casserole will also taste delicious without it :)

Ingredients:

  • 4 potatoes 
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 rosemary twig
  • 1 cup long green beans (fresh)
  • 1 cup broad green beans (fresh)
  • 1 tomatoe - sliced
  • 1/2 zucchini (sliced)
  • 1/2 eggplant (sliced) 
  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 250g ground beef
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1/4 cup diced zucchini
  • 1/4 cup diced eggplant
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • big white beans (canned, drained)
  • 1 Tbsp sambal olek
  • 1 tsp biber salcasi
  • 1 tsp harissa
  • 1 tsp sumac (optional)
  • 1 tsp paprika seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chopped rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp freshly chopped thyme/parsley/lovage (Liebstöckel) - optional
  • salt, pepper to taste
  • 150g cheese (shredded)

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius (390 degree Fahrenheit), fan with top heat.

Prepare potatoes, green beans and veggie slices:

Boil potatoes till almost soft with skin on. Drain. Peel. Cut in slices. Greas a small casserole dish. Lay out half of the sliced potatoes on the botton (set the other half of the potatoes aside for the top of the casserole). Sprinkle with salt and rosmary twigs. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, till potatoes turn slightly crispy.

In the meantime, if you use fresh long green beans and broad green beans, get them cleaned (chop of the ends) and boil them in water for about 10 minutes. Make sure they are not too soft! Drain, cut the long green beans in half and cut the broad green beans in 2 inch pieces. Set aside.

Slice the tomato, eggplant and zucchini. Sprinkle salt over the eggplant and zucchini slices and let them sit for 10 minutes. They will release water. Dry the water of before further use.

Prepare the bean / ground beef mix with oriental flavors:

Heat olive oil in frying pan. Add diced onions and fry for about 3 minutes till they turn slightly translucent. Add the ground beef and the gralic. Stir and brown (fry) the beef for another 5 minutes. Add the diced zucchini and eggplant, fry for another couple of minutes. Now, add the canned tomatoes, the white beans, the precooked long and broad green beans, and the seasoning (sambal olek, biber paste, harissa, sumak, paprika, cumin, chopped rosemary and other fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Stir everything well and let simmer for 5-10 minutes and medium heat. Make sure not to overcook the beans and veggies.

Prepare the casserole: 

Pour the bean/ ground beef mix over the layered potatoe slices in the casserole. Add a layer of tomato slices and a layer of eggplant/ zucchini slices (alternating between eggplant and zucchini). Last, layer the casserole with the remaining potatoe slices. Sprinkle cheese on top. Add a few margarine flakes. Bake for about 30 minutes till cheese is melted and browned.







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