This hearty Pork Stew with Green Beans is a rustic Greek dish featuring tender chunks of pork simmered in a rich tomato sauce, with round green beans added toward the end, retaining a slight bite and vibrant green color!
This traditional Greek dish of green beans with pork is saucy and flavorful. It's a stew that you can enjoy all year round. It is made with canned tomatoes (you can switch to fresh if it is summer and they are in season). And frozen round green beans (though you can also use fresh).
Table Of Contents
Meat Cuts
The best meat cuts for this pork stew are either boneless pork neck, shoulder, or picnic. These all contain a small amount of fat, are meaty, and get nice and tender when cooked into a stew without containing any bones.
Meat Type Substitutes
You can make this flavorful stew with either beef or chicken instead of pork. Use either beef chunks for stew or 2-3 chicken legs cut in half. Or just thighs or drumsticks.
How To Make
To make this delicious pork with green beans recipe, first, brown the meat. It's important to brown the pork chunks well on all sides as this gives real flavor to the stew.
Next, remove the meat from the cooking pot, and saute the onion and garlic. Return the meat to the pot and pour in a splash of wine. Deglaze the pot and add the canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, cook for a minute, and then add the seasonings, hot boiling water, cover, and simmer until the meat is tender.
Finally, mix in the round green beans and fresh parsley. Cover and simmer until beans are cooked and sauce has thickened. If needed, open the lid slightly on the side to help the sauce thicken.
Adding Potatoes
If you want to add potatoes to this pork stew, add them at the same time you add the green beans. You can use either skin-on baby potatoes (6-7) or skinned plain potatoes (500 grams / 17.6 ounces), cut into small cubes (about 4 cm / 1½-inch). Along with the potatoes, add ⅔ cup more water to the sauce.
Make Ahead
You can cook the pork in tomato sauce until it's tender, then allow it to cool and store it in the fridge until the next day, and add the green beans then. This will cut down the cooking time in half.
Storing
You can keep this pork stew with green beans in an airtight food container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop along with a splash of water.
You May Also Like...
- Pork In Tomato Sauce With Potatoes
- Bekri Meze (Drunken Pork Stew)
- Pork With Cabbage
- Pan-Fried Pork With Leeks
Serve With
In Greece, whenever there is a dish that Fasolakia (green beans) are involved there is always a big piece of feta cheese served along with it. So you may want to give it a try. Or serve this green bean pork stew with these easy-to-make Feta cheese bread rolls.
Recipe
Pork Stew With Green Beans
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 550 grams / 19.4 oz boneless pork neck or picnic or shoulder cut cut into cubes (about 5 cm / 2-inch)
- 90 grams / 3.1 oz (about 1 small) red onion minced
- 2 large garlic cloves sliced
- a splash of white wine
- 400 grams / 14.1 canned tomatoes
- 3 dried bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon paprika sweet
- ⅔ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 600 grams / 21.1 oz round green beans fresh or frozen
- freshly ground pepper
- Optional: feta cheese to serve with
Instructions
- NOTE: If using frozen beans leave them inside a strainer for 2-3 hours at room temperature to thaw. If using fresh, ideally blanch them first. By cooking them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then adding them straight into ice-cold water. Strain and use into the stew.
- Add the canned tomatoes to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat a splash of olive oil in a cooking pot over high heat.
- Pat-dry the meat with paper towels and then season with salt and pepper.
- Add the meat to the pot with the hot oil and sear on all sides. Don't flip the pieces right away. Give them a minute or two to get some colour first.
- Remove from the pot. Once the meat is nicely browned all over, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon. Drop the heat to low.
- Saute the onion and garlic. If needed, add a little bit more olive oil.
- Return the meat to the pot. Turn the heat to medium and transfer the meat back to the pot. Pour a good splash of wine, scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, and wait for a few minutes until it evaporates (stops smelling of alcohol).
- Add the pulsed tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and paprika.
- Add 3 cups of hot water (750 ml) and simmer covered over medium heat for about an hour. Or until the sauce thickens a bit and reduces by half. Taste the sauce for any additional seasoning.
- Add the parsley and the green beans. Put the lid back on the pot and cook for 30-40 minutes more. Meanwhile, keep an eye on it in case the sauce thickens too much, and you may need to add a splash of water to it.
- Rest. Once the beans are soft and tender and the sauce has thickened, turn the heat off and let the food stand for 15 minutes.
- Serve with freshly ground pepper on top, and if you like, a piece of feta cheese that goes so nicely with this food!
The Pork stew with fresh green bean is Fantastic. I stopped eating pork and beef 15 years ago, but I had to make this.