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Turkish-style Green Beans with Leeks and Carrots

A sautéed vegetable dish of leeks, carrots, and green beans simmered with olive oil, onion, lemon juice, and parsley.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Turkish-style Green Beans with Leeks and Carrots

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Cut off and discard the roots of the leeks and all but 1 to 2 inches of the green tops.

  2. Slit the top of each leek in half lengthwise down to the point where the green part meets the white.

  3. Gently spread the leaves open and rinse the leeks very well under cool running water to remove any grit. Drain the leeks well.

  4. Slice the cleaned leeks crosswise into 1/2-inch long pieces and set them aside.

Cook

  1. In a medium-sized saucepan, over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil.

  2. Add the onion and cook, breaking up the slices. When the onion is tender but not browned, add the reserved leeks and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes longer.

  3. Add all the remaining ingredients except the green beans and stir gently to combine.

  4. Bring the mixture to a boil; then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

  5. Gently stir in the green beans; then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes longer, or until all the vegetables are tender.

Serve

  1. Serve warm.

  2. (Optional) To serve in the Turkish manner, chill completely (several hours or overnight), and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

281Calories
3 gProtein
14 gFat
39 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Leek + carrottop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,310 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Leek + oniontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,326 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).

  5. Leek + parsleytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together759 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Leeks
Soften into sweet, mellow flavor and add body to the vegetable base.
Olive oil
Carries flavor and gives the vegetables a smooth, rich mouthfeel.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and firm texture that holds up during simmering.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the sweetness of the vegetables.
Frozen green beans
Add tender-crisp texture and fresh green flavor to the finished dish.

The step that matters

Rinse and drain the leeks thoroughly. Grit trapped between the leek layers will remain in the finished dish and is unpleasant to eat. Opening the leaves and rinsing well removes it, and draining prevents excess water from diluting the cooking liquid.

Swap the green beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (leek, olive, onion, carrot, lemon, parsley, sugar):

  1. Parsnipfits better
  2. Turnipfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Green beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against leek, olive, onion, carrot, lemon, parsley, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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