This middle eastern green bean stew is a comfort meal my mom made for us often because it’s easy, balanced and delicious. It’s a tomato based stew made with lamb, beef or veal, with green beans being the star ingredient. I make it using fresh green beans, but frozen works well too. Instant pot and stove top methods outlined below. Serve over basmati rice for a complete meal!
The significance of stew in the middle east
I was raised by a mom who is an amazing cook. A weeknight dinner at our house was likely a stew with lamb and a featured vegetable, alongside rice. We have so many stews in Iraqi cuisine, my favourites are fasolia (made with cannellini beans), okra stew, and this green bean stew.
Stew is like the humble dish that Arabs eat on a daily basis. Its healthy, because it always has a star vegetable and a meat (usually lamb or beef), and its just a delicious no-fuss meal.
Types of meat you can use for stews
For any middle eastern stew, they are typically either made with bone-in lamb, beef, or veal. Bone-in is the best choice because the bones add a lot of additional flavour to the stew broth.
In Iraq, lamb is the most common choice of protein. But sometimes it can be gamey depending on the quality. In my household, we generally prefer veal. It is much more tender than beef, and it has no gaminess like lamb, so it’s the best of both worlds. Feel free to use what you have on hand, including bone-in chicken too. See below for comparative cook times:
- Bone-in Lamb and Veal: 25 minutes instant pot, 60+ minutes stove top. Very tender results.
- Bone-in beef or boneless beef: 30 minutes instant pot, 60+ minutes stove top. Not as tender as lamb or veal.
- Bone-in chicken: 20 minutes instant pot, 40+ minutes stove top. Tender and a great substitute for red meat.
Ingredients for Green Bean Stew
Simple pantry ingredients are needed alongside a protein, some fresh or frozen green beans and onions. For optimal flavour, I prefer fresh green beans.
Instant Pot Method – Step by Step
My preferred method is to use the instant pot or pressure cooker, since it cuts total cook time to about 30 minutes and everything goes in at the same time. This is compared to about 60 minutes or more on the stove top. But I will walk you through both methods since I use them interchangeably.
The first step is to prepare the vegetables. Fresh green beans need to be washed, trimmed on both ends, and then cut into 1-inch long pieces. Onions are finely diced.
To the instant pot, start by adding oil on saute mode and searing the veal on both sides for a few minutes, until lightly golden.
Once the meat has a bit of colour, add the onions and continue to stir for a few minutes until they start to soften.
Next, add the tomato paste and stir it for a few minutes to cook it and develop a bit more depth. Then the green beans go in, along with the salt, pepper, bay leaves and pomegranate molasses.
Finally, add 3 cups of boiling water, cover the instant pot and pressure cook for 25 minutes. Manually release the pressure once the time is up.
The final result is very tender veal, and soft green beans with a deeply flavourful broth. At this point, you can adjust the salt as well as the thickness of the stew. I prefer it to have a bit of liquid so it is perfect to spoon over rice. If you like it thicker, you can allow the extra water to evaporate on saute mode for 10 to 15 minutes.
Stove Top Method
When cooking this stew on the stove top, I usually first boil the meat for a while with the onions and bay leaf, before adding in the green beans, tomato paste and other spices. This is because I find the meat takes a lot longer than the beans on the stove top.
The beans may also cook at different times depending on the type. Thinner french style green beans take less time, thicker beans take more time. You can use the same amounts of all ingredients in this recipe, but follow the following method for stove top:
- First, sear the meat in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the onions and saute to soften. Season with salt, add the bay leaf, add the water and boil for 60 minutes or more until the meat is fork tender.
- Next, add the tomato paste, green beans, pomegranate molasses and the rest of the seasoning. Add more water as needed, then continue to cook at a rolling boil for 30 to 40 minutes until the beans are fork tender. Adjust liquid and salt level to preference.
The perfect rice for this recipe is my classic Arabic vermicelli rice. But plain basmati rice works as well. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days.
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Green Bean Stew (Instant Pot & Stove-Top)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 454 g bone-in veal shoulder or lamb shoulder cut into 2-3 inch sized pieces
- 1 3/4 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 454 g Fresh green beans edges trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (see notes for frozen green beans)
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses substitute a squeeze of lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 bay leaves optional
Instructions
For Instant Pot Directions (note: recipe card total cook time is for instant pot method. Stove top takes longer):
- Start by adding the olive oil to the instant pot on sauté mode. Once the oil is hot, sear the meat pieces for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned, working in batches. Once all the meat is seared, add it all into the pot and sprinkle with 1/2 a teaspoon of the salt.
![veal cubes browning in an instant pot on a light marble background]()
- Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the tomato paste and stir it into the bottom of the pot for a few minutes to cook it down and develop flavour.
![cut green beans with veal, tomato paste and onions in the instant pot on a light marble background]()
- Add the rest of the ingredients: green beans, the rest of the salt, bay leaf, the pepper and the pomegranate molasses. Add the 3 cups boiling water, stir well and cover the pot. Pressure cook for 25 minutes, then manual pressure release.
![Green bean stew in the instant pot on a light tiled background]()
- Check to ensure the meat and the beans are tender. Adjust the salt per preference and check the consistency. It should have a soupy consistence to scoop over rice. If you prefer it thicker, continue to simmer on sautee mode for 10-15 minutes.
![green bean stew with veal cooked in the instant pot with a wooden spoon]()
For Stove Top Method:
- In a large soup pot, add the olive oil on medium heat and sear the meat on both sides until lightly browned. Add the onions and sprinkle with salt. Continue to cook until the onions soften. Add the bay leaves and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and keep at a low rolling boil for 60 minutes until the meat is tender. Skim any foam that forms on the surface.
- Once meat is tender, add the tomato paste, green beans, the rest of the salt, black pepper, and the pomegranate molasses. Add more water if required, and continue to boil for 30 to 40 minutes until the green beans are tender. Adjust the salt level per preference.
Notes
- Note: instant pot method is faster and the total cook time in the recipe card is using the instant pot. Stove top will take longer to cook.
- You can use any bone in meat. See blog post for types of meat to use and how long to adjust cooking times based on the type you use.
- If you don’t have pomegranate molasses, you can skip it or add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
Nutrition
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