Loubia
By: Anonymous
Published: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 - 11:42pm

Ingredients




2 cups dried navy beans
8 cups water
2 bay leaves
3 onions
4 whl cloves
5 garlic cloves minced
1 bone from a leg of lamb
pound (or 1  of lamb bones)
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 tomatoes peeled, seeded,
and chopped
(or two 14 1/4-oz cans diced tomatoes)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
20 cilantro sprigs
30 parsley sprigs
3 teaspoons salt - (to 4 tspns)
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Chopped onion for garnish
Chopped green olives for garnish
Bread for serving

Preparation

1 Soak navy beans in water overnight; drain. Place drained navy beans, water, bay leaves, 1 onion studded with all 4 cloves, garlic and lamb bones in soup pot. Cover and cook over medium heat until beans are fairly soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Discard onion. 2 Dice remaining onions. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and fry, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add to cooked beans, along with 1/2 tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, paprika and cayenne. 3 In blender or food processor, puree remaining 1/2 tomatoes with cilantro and parsley sprigs. Add to beans and cook over low heat, covered, until beans are tender and broth acquires full-bodied flavor, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 4 Ladle into individual bowls and garnish with cilantro, chopped onion and olives. Serve with warm bread. 5 This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.