Tunisian Loubia (White Bean Stew)
Overview
Loubia is white bean stew, and it is eaten across North Africa: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Libya. Dried white beans are cooked slowly in a tomato sauce heavy with ras el hanout, paprika and turmeric, and the result is a robust, spicy stew scooped up with bread. It works as a main course or a side, and in Morocco it is a particularly common accompaniment to fried fish. Everyone has their own touch: some cook it with olives, some finish it with parsley or coriander, and chicken, beef or lamb all appear in it. This version uses chicken, cooked in the pot and lifted out while the beans finish, then returned to warm through. Two practical points the source is clear about. The beans are dried and need overnight soaking, so it has to be planned a day ahead. And the cooking time given assumes a pressure cooker, which the source describes as essential equipment in Moroccan kitchens; without one, allow roughly double. The seasoning should be generous, since a timid hand produces a thin sauce rather than the robust one the dish is known for.
AFN Heritage Note
Loubia is a white bean stew eaten across Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Libya, conventionally scooped up with bread and served either as a main course or alongside fried fish.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Chop the garlic, onions and tomatoes.
- 2
Put oil in the saucepan and fry the chicken lightly.
- 3
Add the tomatoes and onion and let them fry with the chicken.
- 4
Add all the spices and the tomato purée and stir well as it cooks.
- 5
Add the soaked beans and the water.
- 6
Add the bay leaf, the deseeded chilli and the bouillon cube.
- 7
Cook on low heat until the chicken is tender.
- 8
Take the chicken out and set it aside, letting the sauce continue to cook until the beans are done.
- 9
Return the chicken to the pot to heat through.
- 10
Serve with bread.
Africook’s Notes
- Soak the beans overnight. This is not optional with dried white beans and there is no shortcut that works.
- The stated cooking time assumes a pressure cooker. Without one, allow roughly double.
- Season generously. An under-seasoned loubia is thin and characterless, and the robust sauce is the whole appeal.
- Take the chicken out while the beans finish and return it at the end, or it overcooks into stringiness.
- Deseed the chilli as the recipe does if you want the flavour without the full heat, or leave the seeds in for more.
- Olives are a common addition, and parsley or coriander scattered on top at the end is standard.
Reviews
4 reviews
Ah, simmered white beans are pure comfort! I made this yesterday evening in Silver Spring. I was worried 90 minutes would make the chicken pieces too dry, but browning the chicken first and letting it cook down with the tomato purée and the single bay leaf made the meat pull right off the bone. Really nice warmth from the paprika and garlic.
Made this last night because I had a bag of white beans sitting in the pantry. Couldn't find decent ras el hanout near my place in Glendale so I mixed my own cumin, coriander, and cinnamon, but that spice mix with the chicken bouillon cube makes the sauce so lekker and rich. Cooked it for the full 90 mins till the beans were butter-soft.
my mother always made bean stews very thick so I simmered it extra time to reduce the water. The combination of ras el hanout with the fried garlic smells so comforting while cooking. I couldn't find dried white beans at Safeway here in Seattle so I got navy beans at the Halal market on Rainier. Very delicious.
Chale this stew warmed up my whole apartment in Columbus tonight. I used canned beans because I forgot to soak the dried white beans overnight, but it still came out good. The turmeric and tomato purée gave it such a deep color. Next time I will add two red chillies because one wasn't spicy enough for me paa.