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Loubia (White Bean and Tomato Stew)
![Loubia (White Bean and Tomato Stew)](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/03/07/multimedia/nk-loubia-gbpc/nk-loubia-gbpc-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- 2medium yellow onions, halved and sliced
- 1pound cannellini beans, soaked overnight and drained (see Tip)
- ½(14-ounce) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes (or 2 medium tomatoes, cored and diced into ½-inch pieces)
- 4garlic cloves, peeled and grated
- 3tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- 2teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1teaspoon ground ginger
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1½teaspoons fine sea salt or more to taste
- 2½cups vegetable stock
- Bread, for serving
- 4tablespoons olive oil
- 1tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1½teaspoons white wine vinegar
- Pinch fine sea salt
- Pinch granulated sugar
For the Parsley Oil (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Add the olive oil to a large pot over a medium-low heat. Add the onions, cover the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 7 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the beans, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, paprika, ginger, turmeric and salt. Pour in the vegetable stock, cover with a lid and cook until the beans are fully cooked and soft, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes. Keep an eye on the pot towards the end of the cooking process to make sure that the beans don’t dry out and all the stock evaporates (if this happens, add in water progressively to achieve a stew consistency).
- Step 3
To make the optional parsley oil, stir together the olive oil, parsley, white wine vinegar, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Cover and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 48 hours.
- Step 4
Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning with salt if necessary. Serve immediately with a drizzle of parsley oil or olive oil, if desired, and bread on the side.
- For a quicker version, use three (16-ounce) cans of cannellini beans instead of dried. Follow the recipe steps as instructed without adding the cannellini beans at the beginning of the cooking process, and use 2 cups of stock instead of 2½. Cook for 45 minutes, then add the rinsed and drained beans. Cook for another 20 minutes and serve.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Anyone with experience cooking beans knows that if you add an acidic ingredient like tomatoes to beans before they are fully cooked, they won't soften. Canned beans seems like a safer bet here, or cook the beans separately and then follow the instructions for canned beans.
I've been making loubia for years in a clay tagine or dutch oven with 1/2 c olive oil (yes really), 3 grated tomatoes (instead of canned), and unsoaked Rancho Gordo Alubia Blanco beans (which are generally fresher than generic supermarket dried beans and cook faster). Other ingredients generally the same. You must have the tomato cooked into the beans. I just cook it longer -- leave it in the oven for a few hours until the beans are cooked. They do soften.
Anyone with experience cooking beans also knows that the beans will eventually cook/soften. That experience also informs that the beans soak up the flavor of the tomatoes, which is desirable.
Added fresh spinach for a nice touch of color and nutrition. I used the canned beans so it was quick and easy.
Yum, what a winner! I made this for sick household, and everyone found it nourishing and soothing. I added chicken (stock and meat) since the original request was “chicken soup.” Also adapted to what we had on hand, specifically less ginger, powdered garlic instead of fresh, and smoky paprika. It was delicious and seems like a very forgiving and adaptable recipe for folks who need to approximate.
Rest assured a recipe steeped in tradition knows how to soften beans and use its ingredients. See under: "chili" (beans cooked with tomatoes), or soups and stews the world over from Spain, Italy, Morocco, India, and the good old USA.
This was delicious! I used a can of diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic instead of the San Marzano and I think it gave the stew a nice kick. And yes, it took longer for the beans to soften because of the tomatoes. I just cooked it longer and I used more like 4 cups of broth but it made a much richer sauce. And then at the end I threw in a handful of grated Parm, took this recipe to another level. I will definitely make this again.
I’ve been making this for 50 years. You can use any dry bean. I use black eyed beans. I lightly brown slivered garlic in oil then add the drained soaked beans. Heat them thru and add water halfway up the pot with tomatoe paste and salt. Just let it cook down. Keep adding water and cook down until beans are soft. Serve over rice.
Looks simple and tasty but for one fatal flaw that makes me think the author hasn't really cooked this. Can the author really say they have followed this recipe? It seems to violate chemical science. Beans will not soften in an acidic environment like canned tomatoes. Cook them fully BEFORE adding tomatoes or they'll be hard nuggets no matter how long you cook them. Or as Laura M. says, "use canned beans".
I received a late invite to dinner, put the uncooked stew in the refrigerator (I was using canned beans) then finished it the next day. THe extra day of sharing flavors made a tasty dish even better. I might make the refrigeration method a habit.
Pretty easy recipe. I added ground chuck the first time I made it. We also topped it with a little Parmesan cheese.
Used red kidney beans and cannellini beans, and it tasted great.
Delicious. Easy. I adapted slightly by whizzing some celery & carrot with the onions & garlic in mini-Kenwood, to up the veggie quotient. Added a full can of super-tasty Italian tomatoes & went a little extra on the spice percentage front (am a happy heavy hand with spices & garlic). Served up with quinoa/brown basmati, Greek yoghurt & a fried egg. A true keeper & repeater. Thanks NYT & Nargisse Benkabbou
Great, quick dinner. I used a can of Rotel instead of tomatoes. Just the right amount of kick.
Delicious, though I would reduce the salt and add a little heat from red pepper flakes next time.
Simple yet excellent! I used extra parsley and next time would make even more of the parsley oil topping, though it's still tasty without. I also added some kale to it - I imagine any leafy green would work well.
Simple and hearty. If you use canned beans, it’s an easy weeknight meal.
I found this recipe to be quite bland. I added more of the spices, but still, bland. Maybe some hot pepper flakes would help.
Made almost exactly as written - substituted giant lima beans from Rancho Gordo that I soaked overnight. Cooked for 75 minutes and they were perfect. Served over rice with flat bread for scooping it all up. Made in morning and reheated at dinner time so I would not need to cook while entertaining - it all heated up well and I look forward to the leftovers tonight.
VERY forgiving recipe. This was absolutely delicious and this is what I had on hand/prep method: substitutions: smoky instead of sweet paprika, dried Cassoulet beans (rancho gordo brand) soaked overnight, a can of diced tomatoes. Method: Cooked onions as usual but used pressure cooker for 6 minutes on high with soaked beans. Turned out amazing! Will make again/ use leftovers in other meals
Cooked using 4 cans of whatever beans I had in pantry- 2 butter and 2 black. Followed recipe until adding broth as I didn’t want a soup. Instead mashed 1/3 beans and added broth in small increments until desired consistency. It was beautiful. And easy.
I highly recommend a pressure cooker. You can have perfect tender beans with 25 minute cook time that are far superior to canned beans
Please add cilantro as well. Moroccan recipes include cilantro and just a bit of parsley. You need cayenne pepper and not paprika. We eat these beans spicy in Morocco.
Glad I came here to read the notes before making this - I added the tomatoes once the beans were tender and then cooked for about another 15 minutes. Came out great. I used Goya beans soaked overnight, and bean cooking time was about an hour and a half.
Used canned beans. Came out delicious.
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