This is one of my favorite growing up dishes. The flavor is excellent; it is warming and filling. I still don't think I make it as well as my Mom does, but I try! The photo above is of the Great Northern beans I finished soaking this morning (see How to Cook Dry Beans). The photo below is of the finished beans in the tomato sauce.
As a side note, I love to use my pasta pot for cooking beans. Draining is simple — just pull out the insert over the sink. Voila! Beans are easily separated from the water. Rinse right in the pasta insert also.
Fasooli (Fuh-SOO-lee)
Arabic White Beans & Rice
Over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil. After a few minutes, add garlic. Stir frequently. Let onions saute until transparent and soft.
In a 4 cup measuring cup, mix tomato paste with water until smooth.
Add great northern beans, spices and tomato paste/water mixture to pot. Taste, adjust seasonings if necessary. Simmer to heat all ingredients thoroughly.
Turn off heat. Serve over warm brown rice.
Delicious served with stewed lamb meat, or chicken chunks.
Fasooli (Fuh-SOO-lee)
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic chopped or crushed
- 3 cups great northern beans or navy beans, cooked
- 1 can tomato paste
- 3 cups pure water
- 3 cups brown rice (cooked)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
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Over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil.
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After a few minutes, add garlic.
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Stir frequently.
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Let onions saute until transparent and soft.
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In a 4 cup measuring cup, mix tomato paste with water until smooth.
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Add great northern beans, spices and tomato paste/water mixture to pot.
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Taste, adjust seasonings if necessary.
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Simmer to heat all ingredients thoroughly.
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Turn off heat.
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Serve over warm brown rice.
Recipe Notes
Delicious served with stewed lamb meat, or chicken chunks.
© Copyright 2008 by Wardee Harmon.
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Wardee,
That sounds very good, I think I will make it tomorrow for dinner, its supposed to be a stormy day, and that sounds like comfort food. I would love to see more “ethnic” foods.
love,
Tiffany
I made this for dinner tonight and even my 2 year old ate it! 🙂
I served it with chicken, and I didn’t have a can of tomato paste, so I put a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes in the food processor and added a little less water than was called for. It turned out great! Thank you!
Wardee,
I made this for dinner a few nights ago and we loved it! I’m so glad that you linked it in the eCourse.
.-= Millie @ Homespun Oasis´s last blog post… Sourdough Sandwich Bread- Variation =-.
Thanks so much for the recipe. I will give it a try tomorrow. Thanks again
I was a bit wary of this recipe, seemed like it was too simple or not enough spices….But it was delicious and both of my girls ate it without complaining about eating beans for dinner. everyone was satisfied and enjoyed it. Thank you, Wardee for all of the wonderful content you provide!
I was looking for Middle Eastern Bean and Rice dish to make for Pot Luck. I notice that Halal meat often tastes really bad. Do you know of source of good meat that is Halal? I wast thinking of adding lamb to Bean and Rice dish.
This is an awesome recipie. I’ll add chicken breast cubes to make it healthier, and it can be served over any type of rice.
I come across many of your recipies when I try to cook like my Palestinian mother-in-law, whose food is all my hubby likes to eat when I cook. Thanks for posting all your recipies as translations from the other side of the world are ard to master when attempting to teach me a favorite dish.
Thank you, for this delicious recepie what type of acid do you use when soaking the beans.
I would like to say a big thank you for the very helpful videos on cooking, among other things, beans from dry. I’ve been trying to get a good result for ages, always used to use tins of beans but wanted to change that. Now after watching the video and reading through the recipe I think it should work. You also have lovely recipes. What a wonderful website. Thank you very much.
Hi Wardah, First I want to say, I am huge fan of yours! Thank you for your work, it is such a big help and a joy for our family. I am writing to ask about that loubieh (arabic green bean stew) recipe you used to have on your site, it is still linked from some of your pages but the recipe itself is gone. I have been cooking it for a decade, and have an old print-out, it is a family favorite. I was looking it up today because I thought you might have updated it with tips on how to modify the recipe for an instant pot. I believe 4 cups of water is too much, for example, but am not sure. Would I just put 2 cups and use the meat/stew button?
Do you plan on restoring the recipe, and if so, do you plan to post a variation for the instant pot? Thanks again for your work, it brings so much joy to our family! Here is the link where it used to be: /2006/04/24/loubieh-green-bean-stew/ And below is the recipe from my old print out.
Warmest Regards,
Sarah
Loubieh – Arabic Green Bean Stew
1 to 2 pounds grass fed stew lamb (or beef)
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato paste
4 cups filtered water
2 16 ounce packages of frozen green beans (or 2 pounds fresh)
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cups brown jasmine or basmati rice (cooked and warm)
Saute lamb and onions in olive oil over medium heat in a 6 quart stock pot. After a few minutes, add garlic. Let onions saute until transparent and soft. In a 4 cup measuring cup, mix tomato paste, salt, pepper, and water until smooth. Add tomato paste mixture to pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until lamb is tender (about an hour). Add the green beans. Let simmer, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Turn off heat. Serve over cooked brown rice.
Hi Sarah,
We’ve republished the recipe you are looking for. Here’s the link: https://traditionalcookingschool.com/2006/04/24/loubieh-green-bean-stew/
Wardee hasn’t done an IP version of this, and yes, she would decrease the water. She’s not sure how much though. Start with 2 cups and then see.
You could use the meat/stew function, yes. Wardee isn’t very familiar with this function as she most often uses manual. 🙂
Add the green beans at the end. 🙂
Let us know if you were successful in an IP adaptation.
~Millie, TCS Customer Success Team
Hi. How much Is 1 can tomato paste in grams? Thanks in advance!
Hi Karin,
A 6 oz can of tomato paste is 170 grams.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team