Kuru Fasulye (Turkish White Bean Stew)

Method

1. 1
   • dried white beans 400 g

   Boil the beans tender — Drain the soaked beans, cover them generously with fresh cold water in a large pot and boil hard for 10 minutes, skimming off the grey foam. Lower the heat and simmer, half-covered, for 45-55 minutes, until a bean crushes easily between your fingers but the skins are still intact. Keep the cooking water.

   ⏱55 min
2. 2
   • olive oil 3 tbsp
   • onion 1
   • green bell pepper 1
   • garlic 3
   • red pepper paste 1 tbsp
   • tomato paste 1 tbsp
   • paprika 2 tsp

   Fry the pepper paste base — Warm the olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat and cook the onion and green pepper for 8-10 minutes, until soft and just turning golden at the edges. Add the garlic for a minute, then stir in the red pepper paste, tomato paste and paprika and fry for 2 minutes, until the oil around them turns deep rust-red.

3. 3
   • dried white beans 400 g
   • aleppo pepper 1 tsp
   • vegetable stock 7 dl
   • bay leaf 2
   • salt 1½ tsp
   • black pepper ½ tsp

   Simmer the stew thick — Lift the beans into the pot with a slotted spoon and add the hot stock, bay leaves, aleppo pepper, salt and black pepper, loosening with a ladle of the bean cooking water if the beans are not just covered. Simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

   ⏱30 min
4. 4
   • olive oil 3 tbsp
   • white rice 300 g

   Steam the rice — Meanwhile, rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Put it in a small pan with 450 ml of lightly salted water and a splash of olive oil, bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes without lifting the lid. Leave it to stand, still covered, for 10 minutes.

   ⏱12 min
5. 5
   • dried white beans 400 g
   • bay leaf 2
   • salt 1½ tsp
   • white rice 300 g

   Rest and correct the salt — Take the beans off the heat, fish out the bay leaves and let the pot settle for 10 minutes — the stew thickens noticeably as it rests. Taste and correct the salt; it should be assertively seasoned to carry the plain rice.

   ⏱10 min
6. 6
   • dried white beans 400 g
   • olive oil 3 tbsp
   • red pepper paste 1 tbsp
   • white rice 300 g

   Plate beans over rice — Fluff the rice with a fork, mound it into warm bowls and ladle the beans alongside, making sure everyone gets some of the red oil that has risen to the surface.