Long Green Beans (Loubia)

Loubia (Long Beans)

When you are ready to cook your Lubiya, drain and rinse your black-eyed peas and rice, keeping them separate, and set aside.  In a large soup pot set over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil until lightly browned, then add leeks and continue to cook.  When the leeks begin to brown, make a well in the centre, pour in a little more olive oil, and saute the minced garlic and cumin for a minute or two until it’s very fragrant.  Stir it all together, then add the celery, minced chilli pepper, water, paprika, and turmeric.  Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to medium-low and cook until the beans are as tender as you like them.  You can expect that to take about 1 1/2 hours, but that really depends on the age of the beans and your altitude, so don’t hold me to it!  Meanwhile, cook the rice.  If you’ve soaked it, put it in a medium pot with the olive oil, saffron, salt, and water in the proportions given above.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low and cover to simmer for 30 minutes.  If you didn’t soak it, follow the rice: water ratios provided on the package. as well as the cooking time.  Now it’s time to finish the soup.  Once you add the acidic ingredients (tomato and lemon) and the salt, you might find that the beans won’t soften any more, so be sure they are soft enough before you do that.  The rice is fine sitting in the pot until you are ready for it.  Add the tomato, lemon, salt and pepper and simmer for about another 15-30 minutes (or more).  Taste, adjust seasonings and serve over rice with some yummy za’atar spiced bread.  Enjoy!