Comforting, delicious, and so easy to make using economical staple ingredients, Tangy White Beans with Garlic, Tomato and Lime is full of the earthy flavours of garlic, cumin, turmeric, and caramelized tomato paste, finished with the enlivening tang of fresh lime juice. I always have a stockpile of my favourite canned white beans on hand specifically just for this recipe.
My favourite beans to use for this dish are canned navy beans, otherwise known as white pea beans. Before I started regularly making this dish, I almost only ever ate navy beans when they featured as the star of canned baked beans, something I have loved (on toast) since childhood, a culinary joy that Patrick Stewart will back me up on.
But lest I digress further into how much I love Jean Luc Picard, I now appreciate small, dense, and creamy navy beans in their own right, for their unusually delicious, and dare I say meaty, umami flavour (which come to think of it is probably why I love baked beans in the first place!). If navy beans aren’t something you have on hand, any smaller creamy white bean will work, such as great northern white beans or cannellini beans.
Apart from pantry staples garlic, cumin, and turmeric, this 10 ingredients or less recipe calls for a generous dollop of tomato paste; whenever I can, I use Turkish Tomato and Pepper Paste, although of course standard tomato paste will work just as well with just a slightly different flavour profile.
Regardless of which variety you use, the trick to using tomato paste of any kind is to cook it long enough that its fresh red hue fades into shades of darker maroon. Uncooked tomato paste is tart and one note in flavour, while darker, longer cooked tomato paste has had both its sugars and umami flavours concentrated, adding both sweetness and earthy savouriness to your finished dish.
Once the tomato paste is properly caramelized, which doesn't take long, a quick addition of garlic and dried spices, followed the white beans, vegetable stock, and a modest bout of simmering completes this easy dish, with only a big squeeze of fresh lime and some fresh herbs to finish things off. Towards the end of the cooking time, if you like your beans quite brothy, you can add in a bit more stock, or if you like them nice and thick like I do, you can let the liquid reduce a little more. The cooked beans will also thicken a little bit as they cool from pan to table, something I often forget!
The Food Find
When I have it on hand, I use Turkish Tomato and Pepper Paste (Domates and Biber Karisik Salca) almost anywhere that tomato paste is called for and where a mild pepper flavour would not go amiss. I find this essential Turkish staple to have a richer, more deeply savoury flavour than tomato paste alone, although it can also be quite salty, so I always make sure to refrain from adding additional salt in a dish until after I have added the paste and tasted for seasoning. Turkish tomato paste is available in mild, medium and hot varieties. Find out more about Turkish Tomato and Pepper Paste, where to find it, and ways to use it.
Ways to Eat Tangy White Beans with Tomato and Lime
I love these white beans because they are delicious enough to make over and over again, and just so straightforward to make. I was once making dinner for a few people, and realizing that I hadn’t quite made enough food (or at least I was worried that I hadn’t) I whipped up a batch of these beans before the other dishes were finished cooking and no one was the wiser. Needless to say, they work wonders when time is tight!
These beans are happy enough to be eaten on their own, with some feta crumbled on top and a nice warm pita for scooping on the side. I would, I daresay, even suggest eating these tangy, earthy and savoury beans piled on top of a nice thick slice of grilled sourdough, in a more adult version of my (and Patrick Stewart’s) childhood favourite.
Usually though, this is a recipe I return to time and again as part of my favourite cold weather dinner, alongside my Sheet Pan Spiced Roasted Vegetables with Spinach and Basil and a big creamy dollop of Simple Herbed Labneh. If I’m feeling in the mood for an easy feast, I’ll add a batch of Simple Pan Fried Halloumi and some warm bread on the side. The beans can be cooked and the labneh made while the veggies roast in the oven; a comforting and ample vegetarian feast that can be whipped up in around 45 minutes from start to finish.
This recipe was inspired by “Kurdish White Beans” by author Naomi Duguid, in her excellent and highly recommended cookbook Persia.
Tangy White Beans with Garlic, Tomato, and Lime
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon Turkish tomato and red pepper paste substitute standard tomato paste as needed
- 2 cans of navy beans white pea beans, or other small creamy white beans, drained and rinsed (about 4 cups of drained beans)
- 1.5 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground tumeric
- 2 cloves finely minced garlic
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- Salt to taste
- Juice of ½ - 1 lime more to taste as needed
- small handful of mint leaves finely chopped
- small handful of coriander leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan on medium heat. Add the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes until the tomato paste is sizzling and darkened.
- Adjust heat to low, add the spices and the minced garlic, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, making sure the garlic doesn’t brown or burn, until the garlic and cumin are fragrant.
- Add in the broth and whisk until the tomato paste is fully incorporated, then gently pour in the beans and stir.
- Return heat to medium high until beans are simmering and bubbling, and cook for about 10-12 minutes until the stock has reduced and the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking. Towards the end of the cooking time, if you like your beans quite brothy, you can add in a bit more stock, or if you like them nice and thick like I do, you can let the liquid reduce a little more. The cooked beans will also thicken a little bit as they cool from pan to table.
- Taste for salt; usually due to the saltiness of canned beans and the tomato paste, none is needed.
- Squeeze in the lime juice and taste, beans should be earthy and bright; add more lime if desired.
- Mound into your serving dish, top with the mint and coriander, and enjoy!
Leave a Reply