Moroccan Loubia Recipe (Stewed White Kidney Beans)

Published: 17 January 2022

Once you’ve tasted it, Moroccan loubia is one of those dishes you will most likely crave on those cold winter months.

It is essentially a beautiful medley of sweet, savoury, tart and peppery notes all in one. But it’s the creamy texture and flavour of the white kidney beans that elevates this dish to “comfort food” status.

Time to put down the fork and spoon for this one! This dish is best enjoyed with fresh bread at the tip of your fingers.

Moroccan Loubia (Stewed White Kidney Beans)

Meriem Chiadmi

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Moroccan

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup dried cannellini beans (white kidney beans) (or roughly 250g soaked overnight)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil
• 1 red onion (diced)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 10 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 tomatoes (diced)
• 1 large red bell pepper (roughly 2 cups cut into small pieces)
• 1-2 red hot chili peppers (whole or cut in quarters)
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• handful of fresh parsley (minced)
• 200 g tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

(Optional) Garnish:

• 2 Tbsp green part of a spring onion (minced)
• lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Soak the white kidney beans overnight with plenty of water so that they remain covered even after doubling in size.
• Wash the beans and add them to a pot with water. Add the baking soda and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, slightly reduce the heat (to avoid it boiling over) and let it cook for about 18 minutes or until the beans become tender. Drain and leave aside.
• In a large saucepan, sauté the red onions in peanut oil until they start to brown.
• Add fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce, red pepper, hot chili peppers, garlic, paprika, salt and 8 Tbsp of olive oil. Cover and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes over medium heat.
• Add the beans, cumin, pepper, parsley and maple syrup. Let it reduce (uncovered) over low heat for at least 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens nicely.
• Drizzle 2 Tbsp of olive oil (for enhanced flavour and a glossy shine.

  (Optional) garnish with some freshly minced spring onion (green top) and some lemon juice.

Video

Notes

Best served with fresh bread and an assortment of olives.

Fun fact: White beans are a great addition to everyone’s pantry, but especially people with diabetes. Compared to other types of starches, the starch found in white beans doesn’t cause spikes in blood sugar. In other words, white beans help to regulate blood sugar.

A number of scientific studies suggest that an enzyme responsible for starch digestion, known as alpha-amylase, is blocked when we consume white kidney beans. As a result, carbohydrate digestion is limited and blood sugar levels are regulated.