This dish is unlike any that most folks of European or Brit ancestry have ever tried. And it made me sit up and take note of how a food I dislike could be transformed unto something delectable. Lübyeh bil-zeyt is Green Beans in Tomato Sauce…
I’ve often confessed my dislike for Green Beans. I don’t hate them. It’s just that I find something about their flavour – by themselves – a little too similar to what lawn clippings must taste like. I love umami – but too much ‘earthy’ is a deal breaker for me.
Team ’em with tomatoes…
Tomatoes may be the gustatory polar opposite to green beans. They’re bright, zesty and tangy. Yet they somehow mesh with the overwhelming earthiness of green beans perfectly. The two comple-ment each other in a way that few other pairings do. In my mouth… They each provide what the other lacks to create the perfect savoury experience.
Improving on ‘perfection’
This simple, traditional Lebanaese dish also features a good whack of garlic. In fact, recipe contributor Anissa Helou calls for ‘8 to 12 large cloves’. That’s not unusual in Lebanese cooking. In fact, as I understand it, a major appearance by garlic is pretty much mandatory in anything Lebanese that’s not dessert…
And the Garlic is a perfect flavour sidekick for both the beans and the tomatoes. If 12 cloves screams ‘overkill’ at you (as it does at me), then feel free to go as light or as heavy on the garlic as you wish. It’s your dish! The goal, after all, is to make something you and your family will enjoy. It’s not – as some sticklers for tradition and authenticity insist – to make some-thing exactly as folks in a completely different culture do.
The ‘sauce’…
It’s more like a tomato stew. Or stewed tomatoes. Whether you use canned chopped tomatoes, or start with whole peeled fruit (Romas recommended) you’ll get an authentic result. But don’t resort to crushed or puréed tomatoes. You’ll squeeze all the textural character out of the dish.
That’s about it…
Aside from an onion, salt, and olive oil, that’s all you need!
It’s fail proof
It’s a bare-bones 5-step recipe. You can’t get much simpler than that!
All you do is sautée the onions and garlic in the olive oil… “As soon as the oil starts sizzling around the onion, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring every now and then, until soft and golden, 10 to 15 minutes.”
Then add the beans, “with a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the beans are evenly coated with oil and have turned a glossy green.”
“Add the tomatoes and more salt to taste and mix well.”
“Increase the heat to medium-high. Cover the pot and let bubble rather energetically for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let bubble gently for an-other 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomato sauce has thickened and the beans are done to your liking.”
Anissa suggests you serve the dish communally, in one large bowl, with lots of warm pita bread for dipping in, per the main photo above…
My take
Another thing I dislike about green beans is their texture. I always find them tough and woody. But that’s probably because I’m making an unfair comparison with Yellow Wax Beans – one of my fave veggies – which are tender, sweet and never sinewy.
Nevertheless, this dish produces perfect, tender, amazingly flavourful green beans. The secret is in the sauce – and letting it simmer long enough to achieve the desired, authentic result…
~ Maggie J.