Lebanese Green Beans (Loubieh Bi Zeit)
In this Lebanese dish, green beans simmer gently in a simple sauce of tomatoes, garlic, allspice and oregano until tender and full of flavor. Serve the green beans with pita bread or as a side with any entree. This is a vegan, soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free recipe.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 115kcal
Equipment
- Wide skillet or saucepan or saute pan with lid
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
- 1 large onion (thinly sliced, then cut crosswise to make 1-inch slivers)
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano (finely chopped, or use 2 teaspoon dried oregano)
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice (use ground cinnamon for a variation)
- 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 4 medium tomatoes (finely chopped)
- 1½ pounds green beans (trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces. You can leave the beans whole, if you prefer them that way.)
- 8-10 sprigs thyme (optional. I like the freshness and flavor they add at the end of cooking, but you can leave them out. There is already plenty of flavor here from the other ingredients. You can also substitute the fresh thyme with a teaspoon of dried thyme.)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped, optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil with garlic over medium heat until garlic is aromatic. This should take two to three minutes.
- Add the onions, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix and cook until onions are soft, about five minutes.
- Add tomato paste and oregano to the pan and mix well. Stir in the allspice and optional paprika and the optional red pepper flakes. Add the tomatoes to the pan and mix.
- Cover and let the green beans cook in the tomato juices for 30 minutes or until the beans are very tender. Stir a few times and maintain the sauce at a simmer. If you prefer the beans al dente, you can stop cooking sooner, or cook longer if you want the beans even softer. When the beans are tender, add the optional thyme if using.
- Check for salt and ground black pepper and add more if needed. Add the optional thyme if using and mix it in. Use only the leaves and discard tough stems. If you leave the sprigs whole, as I did, fish them out before serving.
- Add the optional parsley as a garnish to the serving bowl.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Green beans: Choose any green beans or haricot verts (French green beans) that are firm and green, with no bruises or dark spots. Fresh beans should not look dry and rubbery - they should snap easily. I used an assortment of romano beans and string beans from my garden cut in 1-inch pieces.
- Onions: Use yellow, white or red onions. I like slicing the onions thin for this recipe and then cutting them in half, so I have 1-inch slices: the same size as the green beans.
- Garlic: I like lots of garlic in this recipe but you can always use less if that's what you prefer.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Potassium: 403mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1381IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2mg