I can remember sitting in a hotel restaurant in Cairo back in the 1980s furiously looking for something Egyptian on the breakfast menu. There were all the usual western breakfast items–eggs, pastries, oatmeal. It was pretty much the breakfast menu you would find in any American restaurant. Meanwhile, the Egyptian gentleman sitting at the next table was enjoying a decidedly-unwestern looking bowl of beans. I asked my waiter if I could have what he was having and it turned out to be a savory Middle Eastern fava bean dish called ful medames. Lucky me. It was delicious.
I’m reminded of that long-ago experience because this recipe for Arabic Baked Beans is an inventive riff on ful.
This recipe is from Noor Murad’s new book LUGMA: Abundant Dishes and Stories From My Middle East . (The cookbook is available through your local bookstore.)
You may recognize Murad’s name, she previously worked with Yotam Ottolenghi and co-authored the cookbook Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things.
In an interview with The Splendid Table site, Murad says that this recipe fuses the cheese smothered baked beans on toast of her childhood with the breakfast bean dishes commonly seen on Middle Eastern breakfast tables.
Don’t expect a sweet bean casserole like American maple syrup or molasses-sweetened baked beans, though. This baked bean dish is redolent in garlic and ginger and liberally topped with gooey cheeses.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Arabic Baked Beans
Ingredients
- For the Beans
- 3 plum tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes
- 3 T. olive oil
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (grated)
- 1 oz. fresh grated ginger (this is about a 3 inch piece of fresh ginger-grated)
- 1 jalapeno chile (finely chopped)
- 2 t. cumin seeds (crushed)
- 2 t. coriander powder
- 1 t. paprika
- 3 T. tomato puree
- 1 t. sugar
- 16 oz. water
- Two 14-oz. cans cannellini beans or equivalent amount of cooked beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1/2 C. fresh cilantro (chopped)
- 4 1/2 oz. labneh or cream cheese
- 4 1/2 oz. cheddar (grated)
- Salt and pepper
- For the Topping:
- 3 T. olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 1/2 oz.(this is about a 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger-grated)
- 3 green onions (green parts only--chopped fine)
Directions
- Step 1 I used canned San Marzano tomatoes in this recipe. I cut the tomatoes into quarters. Set aside.
- Step 2 Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. or its highest setting.
- Step 3 In a large Dutch oven, saute the onion and a generous pinch of salt in hot oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You want the onion to be softened and lightly colored. Add garlic, ginger, green chili, spices and tomato puree to the onions. Continue to cook for several more minutes, stirring often.
- Step 4 Add 16 oz. of water and the sugar to the pot. Add the beans, tomatoes, 3/4 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper and stir. Simmer the bean mixture for about 15 minutes, stirring often until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Step 5 Remove from the heat and add the chopped cilantro. Top the mixture with the labneh (or cream cheese) and sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese evenly across the top of the beans. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. You want the beans to be browned on top and bubbling. (Bake for a little extra time if you need to get the beans to this stage. I had to do this.)
- Step 6 While the beans are baking, prepare the topping. Add all the topping ingredients together and saute in a small frying pan over medium heat for about 12 minutes. Stir this mixture as it cooks. The topping is finished when it is softened and fragrant but not browned.
- Step 7 To serve the beans, spoon the topping over the bubbling beans. Garnish with a bit of chopped cilantro. Serve with pita bread. (Cook’s Note: This dish is best served on the second day when the flavors have had time to mature.)
