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Second course
Side dish of beans

Beans in Tomato Sauce (Side Dish)

An easy, all-purpose side dish. This bean side goes beautifully with all kinds of hot main courses. It's nutritious, doesn't call for pricey ingredients or a lot of effort, and takes no special skill. The one thing to watch is not overcooking the beans, so pick a variety that doesn't fall apart too fast, or keep a close eye on the pot. You can also use ready-cooked canned beans and skip the boiling step altogether.

MariaS

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Dried beans

120

Carrot

Onion

Tomato juice (or tomato purée)

500

Salt

Sugar

0.5

Vegetable oil

Lemon juice

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 21 % 4 g

Fats 16 % 3 g

Carbohydrates 63 % 12 g

92 kcal

GI: 92 / 0 / 8

Cooking method

Step 1:

Rinse the beans and soak them overnight, covered generously with plenty of clean water.
Step 2:

Drain the soaking water from the plumped-up beans, transfer them to a pot, and cover with fresh clean water. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, and cook covered until fully tender — but don't overcook them. The beans should be soft, not falling apart into mush.
Step 3:

Pour vegetable oil into a skillet and add the carrot (peeled and coarsely grated) and the onion (peeled and finely diced). Fry over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden.
Step 4:

Add the tomato juice to the skillet (here I used frozen tomato purée, thawed first). Add the salt, sugar, and spices to taste — for example, ground black pepper, paprika, curry, asafoetida, turmeric, bay leaf, or allspice.
Step 5:

Add the cooked beans (drain off the cooking liquid first and save it for other dishes) and stir. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes. Watch the consistency — add water (or the reserved bean liquid) if it gets too thick, or cook off any excess.
Step 6:

At the end, stir in the lemon juice and serve, garnishing the beans with chopped fresh herbs (dill, parsley, or cilantro — remove any tough stems first).