The Mrs and I found this dish first of all in Transylvania but had no idea what we had ordered, we just knew everyone in the restaurant was eating it and that the waiter found it very strange that a girl would dare order it. Rach is a right FOMO though so the stares didn't put her off too much!
It wasn't until we arrived in Istanbul at the end of the trip that we could actually put a name to the dish and look it up on the internet. The name literally translates to 'meat and beans' and has been adapted to as closely resemble the Transylvanian dish we first had, meaning the stew cooked with a whole piece of ham.
Ingredients -
Approx 1.2kg Smoked Gammon Joint
2 Onions, finely chopped,
2 Red Peppers, finely chopped
3 Cans of Butter/White Beans in water, or a mixture
Dried Chili Flakes, to taste
3 Tbsp Tomato Puree
- Place the ham in a pot, cover with water, bring to the boil, discard the water. This will remove excess salt which can overpower the dish. Alternatively you can soak the joint overnight in water and then discard that. Preheat your slow cooker.
- Trim the fat from the meat
- Fry the chopped onion in olive oil until soft.
- Add the peppers, chilli flakes and tomato puree, mix and continue to cook for a couple more minutes
- Add 2 cans of butter beans and their water, drain the last can and add those too, bring to the boil
- Place the meat in the middle of the slow cooker and pour over the bean mixture
- Cook on high for approx 8 hours, remove lid for the final hour if sauce needs to thicken, add a little water if it gets too thick
Serve over rice / with veg / bread
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