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Loubia {Bean} Salad in Tomato Sauce

If you asked my mom, she would probably tell you I wasn’t a very adventurous eater when I was a child. I liked all of the things every other Midwestern child liked.  Hot dogs and hamburgers, casseroles, and of course heavy doses of starches like pasta, bread, and potatoes.

It’s what we ate.  

It’s what I loved – and I still do. My palate was small but well tested.

I always knew there was more out there.

There were more tastes, more ingredients, more flavors that were waiting for me in the cities and countries I visited in my imagination. The first time I tasted something new it was a glimpse into that world. I ate whatever I could, but always thought “fancy” food was where the real tastes were; the food you would have in big name restaurants and carried hefty price tags.  But, along my journey I learned something.

Simple is best.

The food that has really stuck with me are the simple meals with minimal ingredients but bursting with flavor. They also carry a story, and every bite brings back that story, be it good or bad, funny or sad. This salad brings back one of those stories. It’s a simple story, for a simple dish. Sitting in a restaurant in Morocco, with my dad and my little sister.

We ate the same kind of tajine for days and the only reprieve I had was the variety in the salads offered. Even though it was 15 years ago now, I still see us sitting at that table and eating this with fresh bread. I smile because it makes me think of this very special time I had with my dad (don’t worry he’s still with us – we just don’t live nearby). He’s always made me laugh, and even when the most difficult circumstances were brought up, he offered whatever he could, a hug, a comforting thought, or just a phone call. Simple things.

Moroccan white beans in red sauce
Moroccan white beans in red sauce
Yield: 4 servings

Loubia {Bean} Salad in Tomato Sauce

This simple Moroccan dish makes a great salad served cold, or an appealing vegetarian meal served hot. Just don't forget the bread!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried cannellini beans (also known as Great Northern Beans)
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 3/4 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 onion chopped finely
  • handful of chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
  • 2 cloves of crushed garlic
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper

Instructions

  1. *Soak the cannellini beans overnight in 3-4 cups of water - this will make cooking much quicker. Alternately you can use canned cannellini beans.
  2. If you are using dry beans, place them in a pan and fill 3/4 with water. Place on a burner and cook the beans until they are tender.
  3. In a large pan or skillet add the vegetable oil and turn the heat to medium. When the oil has warmed up add the chopped onions and saute 4-5 minutes until onions are translucent.
  4. Pour the tomato sauce into the pan and stir. Mix in the crushed garlic, turmeric, salt, cumin, and red pepper. Keep the heat on low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the beans to the tomato sauce. Cook for another 10 minutes. Mix in the parsley and remove the pan from the heat.
  6. This salad is served at room temperature and can be stored in the refrigerator. It's even better the next day when all the flavors have had a chance to mix together.

If you like this Moroccan salad (or side dish if you will) then make sure you check out my page that has a lot of other Moroccan salad recipes!

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Mediterranean Diet Recipes | Pook's Pantry Recipe Blog

Saturday 1st of June 2019

[…] Quinoa Salad • Freekeh Salad with Fruit and Nuts • Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp)  • Loubia Bean Salad in Tomato Sauce from […]

Carol

Sunday 24th of June 2018

I love your recipes, so thank you! I want to make this one too 😊. To an English person, tomato sauce is ketchup! What would you recommend using? Fresh tomatoes, tinned tomatoes, passata, tomato purée?

Amanda Mouttaki

Monday 25th of June 2018

I think passata would work best and be the fastest/easiest!

Andrea

Sunday 26th of May 2013

Yay for Loubia! Although I used a recipe of another source (it was basically the same, just with fresh tomatoes) I made it for the first time exactly during the week you had this post about it. I always thought my husband (from Morocco) is not really fond of beans, but recently discovered he only doesn´t like the dark kidney beans that I mostly used. We are in a time of our lives right now that doesn´t leave much time for cooking and I am also not very experienced (I had to think of your story how your husband and you lived on simple dishes like lentils in the beginnings of your marriage!) so we will have a good bit of Loubia now, especially as weather here in Germany is more like fall at the moment.

Amanda Mouttaki

Sunday 26th of May 2013

I'll often use dried beans and fresh tomatoes as well but wanted to give an easy option here. Not to mention tomatoes in winter/spring are just gross without flavor here! My husband dislikes kidney beans too, maybe because they're not common in Morocco. Enjoy the simple meals!

Kelly

Tuesday 7th of May 2013

I remember some childhood staples were buttered noodles, fish sticks, and tacos. When I was in college, some thought I was "exotic" (yes, a roommate called me that) because I ate things like black bean soup or couscous with lentils. I think with social media and channels like the Food Network, more information is making the food world smaller. Now my mom calls from her small town grocery store to ask what kind of balsamic vinegar to buy (what, not the jug of white that was the only thing around before?) or what kind of artisan cheese to get. Nonetheless, with all that food/cooking info out there, your message of embracing simplicity is more important than ever.

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