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.
Your and your friend Zsuzsa’s recipes both sound good. A nice dish when fresh green beans are in the market.
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Lovely idea to put lentils instead of the usual roux! I have a recipe of a soup (Indian) where orange lentils are used only as a thickener and I love it too. So thick but so light! Your green beans look delicious and sound very light indeed.
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The lentils are very clever and I’m sure very delicious. I often add chopped green beans to lentil soup. GREG
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lentils and green beens sound like a delicious combo. i’ll have to try this recipe. thanks! // ▲ conundrumofcoitus.com ▲
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Thank you Fred and welcome to my blog.
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I’ll make sure to look for this dish while we’re in Hungary. I bet your version is delicious with the lentils though. Very clever! And your tilapia looks delectable. Like you, I never would have eaten this as a kid either.
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Thank you kindly Kristy. Hungarian food can be quite rich, I think they still cook with lard for the most part (although my dear Aunt Ági (RIP) switched to margarine some 25 years ago, not sure which is worse!)
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It’s so great when you can find an alternative to a dish that works for you. It sounds like your vegetable purée in tandem with the yogurt performed beautifully here – nice and thick and hearty too, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out. I have to say I love the idea of a stew that celebrates green beans ! You just don’t come across those very often but I have a great fondness for the humble green bean (they were also my greatest garden success this past summer :o).
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The bean stew looks like wonderful comfort food. I’ve never had a stew like it so would love to give this a try xx
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Thank you kindly Charlie, it was tasty indeed.
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The title of green bean stew caught my eye. I’ve not heard of anything like it. And what an interesting dish, Eva, made even more so with your ingenuity. A lentil-based roux? How ever do you come up with these ideas? Looking at the nutritional comparisons, though, I can see why you would want to. Getting rid of the lard made a big difference. With JT giving the dish his thumbs up, I know you’ll be making this again. I’m going to pin this for later use. I love green beans and this is a completely new recipe for me to try. Thank you!
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Thank you so much John, I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “necessity is the mother of invention”, it’s really my motto! From time to time I try to take gluten out of our diets so I come up with these interesting alternatives. I like the lentils because they cook up quickly and thicken well plus they combine with liquid and in particular, cheese to make a smooth sauce without it feeling fake (like cornstarch sometimes does). It’s also super creamy on the tongue which emulates the butter in the roux, not to mention that it’s a protein instead of a simple carb! Plus, plus, plus!
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What a beautiful plate and even though I’m not a big green bean fan, other than just barely sauteed in some butter with a sprinkle of salt, I’d give your intriguing sauce a try.
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Hi Maria, thank you for your comment. Have you been able to comment on Zsuzsa’s blog recently? I have not.
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I don’t think she’s posted since her Xmas cookies but I’m sure I commented at the time.
Just checked … comments are gone and no way to comment. I wonder if something’s happened.
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No way to contact her either, oh dear, I hope it’s not bad. I just remembered I can get an email from my blog (a requirement) and noticed that she did comment on Jan 1, so I’ll send off an email and hope for the best.
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Very interesting!!! I should make it for my Hungarian girlfriend!
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Thank you Chef Mimi. It’s my experience that Hungarians generally are not open to any changes to traditional recipes.
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This sounds like a really wonderful stew whether or not one was trying to lose some weight. I love the combo of the yogurt, dill, paprika and lentils. And wow, what a difference nutritionally from the original! Love your new header, too.
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Thank you Betsy for your kind words.
The background is flour dusted on my counter, I don’t think it’s obvious so I may change it. I’d like to animate my ladybug on the header but I haven’t figured out how.
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You may have to do a paid site to animate. I think it has to be coded in. 🙂
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I’ve been thinking about it, my fear is the volume of content I have and the longer I wait the more it gets…vicious circle really. Thank you for the info.
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This sounds lovely and fresh. I used to gag over bean stew when I was a kid… yours sounds delish, Eva xx
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Thank you Liz, my stomach wouldn’t tolerate the lard anyway so it was quite a treat for me.
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I love that you used lentils to thicken the sauce a bit…totally delicious and healthy!
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Thank you Angie, I love lentils! I always keep a baggy in the freezer with little cubes of cooked puréed lentils to thicken soups or sauces quickly without the use of flour.
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