We love this Beef & Cannellini Bean Stew because it's so comforting and satisfying, it feels like a proper homely dish. We use dried beans because as they cook it makes the sauce creamier and they hold their texture better. Sometime we have this without the meat for a vegetarian meal or we use lamb for a richer flavour but we usually like to add some lean beef for an extra hit of protein.
You can make this with slight variations, for example we always use celery but Yuksel's mum likes to use dill instead of celery - it's just personal preference. Our favourite things to serve this dish with is warm crusty bread, pickled chillies and raw spring onion - the idea is a spoon of stew and a bit of the onion - try it, you'll love it!
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 300 g dried white beans, soaked in water overnight
- 1tbsp Oil
- 500 g Beef Stewing Meat, cut into 1cm small cubes
- 2tsp Lamb Shish Marinade
- 2 sticks of Celery, peeled & sliced into 1cm pieces
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 tbsp Turkish Sweet Pepper Paste (tatlı biber salçası)
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice, or to taste
- 1tsp Pul Bibir
- 600ml Chicken Stock
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Cooking Instructions
- Cover the beans with at least 3x the volume fresh water. Leave to soak for 8 hours or over night.
- Marinate the beef in the Lamb Shish Marinade.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a high heat, once hot add the meat and brown. Once browned, remove from the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and fry until softened. Once softened add the celery and fry off for a couple of minutes.
- Add the pepper paste and tomato paste and mix through. Then drain the beans and add to the pan along with the beef.
- Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and put the lid on and leave to cook for around 90mins.
- It is ready when the beans have softened the sauce is slightly thicker (although it is meant to be quite thin) and the beef is tender.
- Season with salt and pepper, add the tsp of Pul Bibir and stir in the lemon juice. We serve this with crusty bread, pickled chillies and spring onions sliced in half lengthways.
