• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Aegean Delight
  • All Recipes
  • Wellness
  • Youtube
  • About
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Mains

    Mediterranean Vegetable Stew: Türlü

    Aug 18, 2019 · Modified: Jan 10, 2022 by Gönül

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan vegetable stew in traditional Turkish copper pan
    Mediterranean Vegetable Stew

    Mediterranean vegetable stew, türlü, is one of my favorite ways to use up all the random vegetables sitting in our fridge. Its translation from Turkish, “varied”, is quite self-descriptive and encourages you to do just that. 

    This is yet another Mediterranean recipe that is vegan without any substitutions. Served cold or hot, türlü can comfort you at any time of the year. I love making a big batch on the weekend for light meals or to add as a side to most dinners throughout the week.

    Mediterranean vegetable stew ingredients: chopped eggplants, onions, zucchini, and okra.

    Variations of Mediterranean Vegetable Stew

    To be honest, sharing a precise recipe feels almost pointless since you could use most vegetables you like and end up with a delicious dinner. So get creative and use up all your turning veggies you were planning to get rid of soon anyway.

    Although, still... some vegetables do go better in this tomato-based dish than others. Below are a few suggestions.

    • Spring / Summer:
      • Squash
      • Okra
      • Green beans
      • Peas
      • Eggplant
      • Corn
      • Beets
      • Bell peppers
    • Fall / Winter:
      • Sweet potatoes
      • Turnip
      • Leeks
      • Endives
      • Parsnip
    • Year-round:
      • Celeriac
      • Carrots
      • Mushrooms
      • Cooked chickpeas
      • Cooked lentils

    Optimizing Nutrition

    Another reason why I love this dish is its low calorie and high volume & micronutrient profile. If you are aiming to stay in a caloric deficit for some reason like I currently do, and want to get the biggest micronutrient-bang for your calorie-buck, give it a try.  You can also reduce or omit the olive oil to shave off even more calories or to make it whole-food-plant-based.

    Mediterranean vegetable stew with Turkish rice pilaf and ayran (frothy yogurt drink).

    Uses for Mediterranean Vegetable Stew

    Unless I add legumes to this recipe, we enjoy it as a side dish. In summer, I love to eat it directly out of the fridge— especially if it has okra or green beans. In colder months, we enjoy it hot with a side of rice or bulgur pilaf.

    This stew goes well with the following:

    • Rice Pilaf
    • Ayran (Turkish Yogurt Drink)
    • Bean or lentil salad (if you are not using any beans in the stew itself)
    • Tabouleh
    • Pickles
    • As part of a mezze spread (served cold)
    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

    Mediterranean Vegetable Stew: Türlü


    • Author: Gonul
    • Total Time: 75 minutes
    • Yield: 6 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Ingredients

    Scale

    2 medium eggplants, cubed

    350 g okra, or about 20 large pieces

    3 Anaheim chiles (shishito or bell peppers will work better if you are avoiding extra spice)

    3 medium tomatoes, diced (do not get rid of the juice or the seeds! they are the most flavorful parts of a tomato)

    2 medium zucchinis, cubed

    1 medium red onion, cubed (yellow or white would also work)

    3 garlic cloves, finely diced

    ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

    1 tablespoon tomato paste

    1 tablespoon red pepper paste (spicy or regular, feel free to omit this ingredient use equal amount of tomato paste instead)

    2 cups hot water

    1 teaspoon salt


    Instructions

    1. Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onions, sweating them for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
    2. Add the garlic, stir fry for another minute, then add all the vegetables except tomato and mix for two more minutes.
    3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, pepper paste, and salt. Mix well, put on the lid, and let simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
    4. Add the hot water and cook on low heat without a lid until all vegetables are tender or to your liking. I like the eggplants quite soft so this step takes about 45 minutes.
    5. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve hot or cold. I love this dish with rice pilaf and ayran.

    Notes

    *Feel free to add any seasonal vegetables you like and play around with the recipe. I love adding potatoes, green beans, peas, and cooked chickpeas as well.

    • Prep Time: 15 minutes
    • Cook Time: 60 minutes
    • Category: Main Courses
    • Cuisine: Mediterranean

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size:
    • Calories: 258
    • Sugar: 11.6 g
    • Sodium: 408.9 mg
    • Fat: 19.5 g
    • Saturated Fat: 2.8 g
    • Carbohydrates: 21.9 g
    • Fiber: 9.6 g
    • Protein: 4.6 g
    • Cholesterol: 0 mg

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @aegeandelight on Instagram and hashtag it #aegeandelight

    More Mains

    • Vegan Noodles with Garlic and Chili Oil
    • Easy Hand-Pulled Noodles (Biang Biang Mian)
    • The BEST Bulgur Pilaf Recipe
    • Grilled Tofu with Chimichurri Recipe

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi! I'm Gönül

    I share flavorful vegan recipes that are mostly from the Aegean. It is a cuisine filled with incidentally-vegan gems and I can't wait for you to try some of them!

    You can find out more here

    Popular

    • Turkish Lentil Balls (Vegan Mercimek Köftesi)
    • Authentic Turkish Delight Recipe from Narnia
    • Vegan Crème Brûlée Doughnuts with Vanilla Custard
    • Mediterranean Kale Salad with Dates & Pine Nuts
    • 10-Minute Tomato Paste Pasta Sauce
    • Vegan Potato Rolls - Turkish Pogaca Recipe
    • Turkish Burned Pudding (Vegan Kazandibi)
    • Vegan Shakshuka Recipe - Turkish Menemen

    Keep in touch with me here!

    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    Footer

    Stay Connected

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Contact

    • Email

    © 2023 Aegean Delight. All Rights Reserved.