Fasolia beida (white beans in tomato sauce)
فاصوليا بيضا (fasolia beida): dried white beans slow-stewed in tomato, a winter staple
Fasolia beida keeps Egyptian families going through the short Cairo winter: dried white beans, soaked overnight and stewed thick with tomato and onion, eaten on rice with crunchy turnip pickles and green chillies on the side. It's cheap, filling and better the next day, which is why many cooks make a double pot. Beans cooked in salted tomato from the start can stay hard forever, so they get boiled tender in plain water first. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of the beans against the side of the pot near the end; it thickens the sauce naturally.
- Total time
- 95 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz dried white beanscannellini or haricot, soaked overnight
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 4 garliccloves, crushed
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 14 oz chopped tomatoes1 tin
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain 10 ½ oz dried white beans, cover with fresh water by 5 cm and boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer until creamy inside when squeezed. Keep 300 ml of the cooking water and drain the rest.
50 minStep 2: In another pot fry 1 onion in 3 tbsp sunflower oil over a medium heat until golden.
8 minStep 3: Add 4 garlic and 3 tbsp tomato paste and fry for a minute until the paste darkens.
2 minStep 4: Add the beans, the saved cooking water, 14 oz chopped tomatoes, ½ tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp ground coriander, 1 ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Simmer, uncovered, stirring now and then, until thick. Mash a ladleful against the side of the pot to thicken it further.
25 minStep 5: Taste for salt and serve hot over rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 14 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fasolia beida (white beans in tomato sauce) take?
- About 95 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 80 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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