Here’s another great recipe for a quick and easy vegan recipe. Lebanese Lubia – Beans in Tomato Sauce are steamed green beans, unlike the ones I’m used to from my youth. Differently seasoned – actually completely different – and they taste amazingly good! I never thought cinnamon would be a good seasoning for green beans, but it is. As a matter of fact! If you have about 30 minutes to make this delicious recipe and some time to devour it, then give it a try. Lebanese beans are quite versatile, for example as a main course over basmati rice or as part of a Far Eastern buffet, because you can also eat them lukewarm or cold with pita bread. Whatever you want, just try – Lebanese Lubia.
Lebanese green bean stew Lubia or Lubjeh b’säth (beans in oil) is a really great dish if you know how to cook it. Not only is it a classic Lebanese dish, it’s also one of the simplest. Green beans are cooked in olive oil, hence the title “b’säth”, and stewed in a simple tomato sauce. Since this is a stew, you should let it simmer over low heat to allow all the flavors to combine. Be careful not to overdo it, though, because you don’t want to end up with mushy beans. Middle Eastern cooking tends not to leave vegetables crisp and again, you don’t want to keep the crisp as it wouldn’t work well when “dicing” flatbread.
Most recipes add black or cayenne pepper, but I substitute some spicy harissa for that. It may not be traditional, but it works. I love the slight burning sensation that hits your throat the first moment after the first bite.
My recipe also uses two onions which I caramelize to get that umami flavor. If you have enough patience to cook onions properly, people will ask, “What’s the secret of good cooking?” And they won’t believe you just cooked the onions right. Seriously, if you know how to manipulate the base of this recipe (like sautéing the onions), you’ll set a good foundation for any dish. The wonderful thing about this recipe is you could even use frozen ingredients and it would taste almost as good.
if you like Lubia – beans in tomato sauce, you might also be interested in these dishes:
- Brussels sprouts and tofu stir fry with miso sauce
- Wholemeal wrap with tofu and ginger peanut sauce
- vegan quick white bean salad
- Manakeesh – Lebanese Zaatar Bread
- vegan cauliflower korma with tofu
- tender miso onions from the oven
Lubia – beans in tomato sauce
Ingredients
- 500 grams pole beans
- 2 potatoes waxy (optional)
- 2 onions
- 2 clove of garlic
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste*
- 1 can canned tomatoes* about 400g
- 200 ml water
- 3 tbsp. native olive oil*
- ½ tsp Cinammon*
- ½ tsp Harissa*
- kosher salt*
- small bunch parsley
Garnish:
- basmati rice*
- Salt
Instructions
- Wash the beans, remove the stalks and cut into pieces about 3 to 4 cm long.
- Peel potatoes and cut into large cubes.
- Peel and roughly chop the onions and garlic.
- In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over low heat. Caramelize the onions over low heat. This can take a good 15 to 20 minutes, but it’s worth the effort. Then add the garlic and sauté.
- Put the tomato paste in the pot and fry it. It is also allowed to start something, so that delicious roasted aromas unfold and the color will later turn a deep red.
- Add the beans and potatoes and fry for about 5 minutes.
- Deglaze with the water. Add canned tomatoes, ground cinnamon, and harissa. Season with salt. Cover and simmer gently over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
- Meanwhile, prepare rice according to package directions.
- Lubia – Serve beans in tomato sauce with rice and chopped parsley.