Green bean stew (Zöldbab Főzelék) is one of those Hungarian dishes that is an aquired taste, it has a bit of a sour flavour and is usually rather heavy on the dill. I never liked it as a kid, but it is a Hungarian staple particularly as spring approaches. Recently, I found myself with a relatively large package of the lovely, extra-thin green beans and I wondered how I could make this roux-based dish a little healthier. I omitted the lard (I know, it’s flavour but we’re also trying to lose a few so we’re being good!) and I remade the roux with puréed lentils! Not so traditional, but it was rather tasty. With JT giving it a solid thumbs up, I’ll definitely be making this dish again!
Healthy Hungarian Green Bean Stew (Egészséges Zöldbab Főzelék)
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 300 g Green Beans, trimmed and cut i bite-size pieces
- 90 g leeks, roughly chopped
- 20 g garlic, roughly chopped
- 30 g red lentils
- 1 tsp Hungarian Paprika
- Vegetable Stock
- 1 tsp EVOO
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 2-3 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped.
Directions:
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven, sauté green beans until soft but still has a bit of a crunch adding a tablespoon of the vegetable stock as needed. Set aside.
- In the same pan, add leeks, garlic and lentils and sauté adding a bit of vegetable stock until lentils are soft, add the paprika near the end. Purée the lentil sauce until smooth add vegetable stock until desired consistency is achieved (should be thick like a roux). Add the yogurt and purée again until smooth. Return the beans to the lentil sauce and add the chopped dill (to taste), heat through and serve immediately.
Notes:
- For an authentic Hungarian Green Bean Stew, please visit my friend Zsuzsa for her recipe.
- I wanted a fat-free and gluten-free roux and that is why I chose red lentils to thicken the sauce.
- This is a slightly sour dish from the yogurt, if you don’t like that type of flavour, omit it.
- I served a baked tilapia on the stew, the tilapia is just seasoned with salt and pepper.
This was the first time I made this stew and JT LOVED it!
The healthy version based on 2 servings per recipe.
This is the original Hungarian Recipe which uses lard, sour cream and flour.
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