Green beans, tomatoes, almonds and chickpeas are simmered up in a lightly spiced tomato base to make this cozy and flavorful Lebanese green bean stew.
Waiting tables is rough work—I know because I did it for years. Now that I'm a former server, I'm a great customer. (Former servers are always so easy, and they're awesome tippers!) But when I come across something on a menu that's new to me I can maybe get a little annoying in a twenty questions kind of way. "What's that vegetable?" "What spices are in here?" "Are these steamed?" Sometime the questions get directed at dining companions. "What do you mean you didn't ask what's in the sauce on your eggplant?" That kind of thing. When I try something good, the first thing I want to do is recreate it in my own kitchen. And the second thing I want to do is share it with you guys!
Okay, really, if I ever detected that the person bringing me food didn't want to discuss it I'd drop the issue right away. But if they're game, I want to know everything I can about the dish!
On a recent trip to a Middle Eastern restaurant I spotted something called loubieh on the menu. Loubieh apparently translates to "green beans," but the dish was actually a green bean stew. Honestly, it just sounded just okay, you know, compared to falafel and grape leaves and the other vegan Middle Eastern delights I'm used to. But it was new to me, so I felt compelled to order it, and then grill the server about what was in it (which she didn't seem to mind at all). I was so glad I did—this stuff was excellent.
There's generally not that much to Lebanese green bean stew. In fact, the title of this post gives most of it away, and the chickpeas and almonds are actually my additions. The stew is usually seasoned with just the essentials, garlic and onions. I went a step further and caramelized my onions, because caramelized onions are fantastic, and they just might be a running theme this week. Some versions of the dish include cumin, and since I love cumin, I went and threw it in.
Serve this up with some warm pita and hummus, and you'll be in healthy comfort food heaven.
Lebanese Green Bean Stew with Chickpeas & Almonds (Loubieh)
Green beans, tomatoes, almonds and chickpeas are simmered up in a lightly spiced tomato base to make this cozy and flavorful Lebanese green bean stew.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 12 ounces fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup cooked or canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a medium pot with oil and place it over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for about 25 to 30 minutes, flipping occasionally, until the onion begins to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute more, until very fragrant.
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Add the broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, green beans, chickpeas, almonds, and cumin to the pot and give everything a stir. Raise the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and allow to simmer until the base has thickened up and the beans are tender, 20 to 30 minutes depending on how soft you like your veggies.
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Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide into bowls and garnish with parsley. Serve.
How have I not heard of this? I love Middle Eastern food. This sounds cozy and fantastic. .
That's what I said when I first saw it on the restaurant menu! Totally new one for me!
This is one of my favorite dishes from back home! But we serve it up with rice instead. If you can find vermicelle in a specialty store, you should fry some at the bottom of a pot then add your rice and water. You end up with an amazing lebanese style rice to serve up with your stew.
Ooooohhh... that's a new one for me too, and it sounds delicious! I just googled it and found a few recipes - definitely making that on the side next time. Thanks Lena! :)
This looks delicious - and I have all the ingredients on hand! Yay! Thank you so much for your recipes, beautiful photos and wonderful writing! I love following you on Facebook!
Made this for dinner last night - excellent!
Yay!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I grew up eating this but instead of cumin we would use a dash of cinnamon and a little fresh mint. I would also serve it over rice. That’s the Lebanese way!
That sounds delicious! I'll have to give it a try!
Just seeing the vermicelli and rice tip now that all is cooking, but I’m proud that I cooked rice at least! This will be our first Lebanese dish and can’t wait to try it. Using my pressure cooker to reduce cooking time.
Great idea! I hope you enjoy it!!
Would a dash of allspice in this recipe pair well?
Hmmmm...I can't say for sure without trying, but I have a feeling it would! I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
Minus the almonds but with potatoes this is a dish I grew up on. We’re Italian and it was served on Fridays back when you didn’t eat meat that one day of the week. Served with Italian bread and followed with a lettuce salad, it made a satisfying (and cheap) meal. It’s even better with the almonds!
I liked the recipe in general, but I think the green beans need to be cut shorter -- about an inch -- because it's hard to eat this with a conventional soup spoon! Otherwise, it's terrific: Tasty, easy to make, and cheap!