Lebanese 7 Spice Bean Soup

My first encounter with Lebanese 7 spice was the result of bad research. A few years ago, while developing ideas for a Christmas series about traditionally plant-based dishes, I came across Lebanese Fasolia. Overlooking the minor detail that, besides beans, it’s made with plenty of meat, I wrote a first recipe and went straight to the stove. The dish never made the series because I soon came to realise my mistake, but it was so delicious that, from that day on, my plant-based take on Fasolia became an almost weekly staple in my kitchen, largely thanks to one ingredient: 7 spice. I’ll explain later…

Now, whenever I spot 7 spice on a store shelf (most Middle Eastern shops carry it), I think of this soup. It might just be my visual equivalent of Pavlov’s bell. And although traditional Fasolia is usually made with meat, it turns out that I wasn’t that far off target after all.

It may be surprising to many, but much of Lebanese cuisine actually happens to be plant-based. It’s partly thanks to a culinary culture, where ingredients like legumes and grains already take centre stage, while spices are used liberally to add quick depths of flavor. Religion plays a role too–Lebanese Christians eat a predominantly plant-based diet during Lent and have long created a vast diversity of foods that may strip back on animal-products, but certainly not on flavor. Take Adas bil Hamod and Pumpkin Kibbeh, for instance.

So for this week’s recipe, I am sharing the dish that started my fascination with Lebanese cooking, a cuisine that’s no stranger to meatless fare and that knows all too well how to coax flavor out of plants. One of its main secrets? Well, that brings me back to the 7 spice.

As the name kind of gives away, 7 spice is made from seven essential spices: black pepper, cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Once this blend hits the pan, you know something good is on the horizon. It draws out the sweetness of the onions, the punch of the garlic and the fresh herbal notes of the coriander, all while filling the kitchen with a scent that marks the moment when ingredients metamorphose into magic. This is when compliments start spilling in from the room next door, or when curious minds drift into the kitchen to see for themselves what exactly is going on. The first time I tasted this soup, I was hooked by the power of this beautiful spice blend.

But there’s more that makes this dish special. The passata, together with the cooking liquid from the beans, results in a rich, creamy broth that tastes as if it’s been simmering for hours. It’s ingredients like this that are so crucial when it comes to natural plant-based cooking. Devoid of the rich fats and flavor shortcuts of animal-products, it’s the depth of the spices, the umami of the tomatoes and the wholesomeness of the broth that, elevated by time, create food that becomes memorable.

Beware that the finished soup is tangy – the passata, sumac and lemon juice all add a bright burst – but instead of balancing it with added sweetness, the tanginess itself becomes a beautiful statement. If you’d like to dial it down a little, omit the lemon juice or use it to taste.

Now, let's get to the recipe. This hearty, plant-based take on Fasolia is packed with flavor and surprisingly simple to make. Here’s what you’ll need...

Serves 4

Active time: 40 minutesTotal time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 320g dried red kidney beans (or 2 x 570g jars or 3 x 400g cans), see note below

• 2 1/4 tbsp salt (32g)

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus extra to finish)

• 2 large onions (400g)

• 6 large garlic cloves

• 30g coriander

• 1 tbsp Lebanese 7 spice

• 400g passata

• 1 tsp sumac

• 200g spinach

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• flatbreads or sourdough bread (to serve)

Method

1. Soak the beans with 1 tablespoon (14g) of the salt in around 1l of water overnight.

2. The next day, drain and rinse the beans and add them to a large pan with 1.5l of water. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid left slightly ajar for 1 hour or until just tender. Alternatively, cook with just 1l of water for around 10 minutes in a pressure cooker (see note below). Drain the beans, but keep the cooking liquid.

3. When the beans have around 20 minutes left to cook, heat the olive oil in a casserole. Peel and finely chop the onions and sauté in the oil until softened (8-10 minutes). Peel and finely grate or crush the garlic, trim and discard the lower stems of the coriander and finely chop the rest, then add both to the casserole and cook for a minute until the garlic is aromatic. Stir in the 7 spice and allow it to heat through.

4. Tip in the passata, sumac and the remaining 1 1/4 tbsp salt (18g) along with the beans and 400ml of their cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes until the beans are seasoned and the soup is rich and fragrant.

5. Finally, stir in the spinach and cook until the leaves have just wilted. Add the lemon juice, then divide the soup over bowls, drizzle with extra olive oil and serve together with bread of your choice.

Notes

• If using jarred or canned beans, simply start with Step 3 and use fresh water instead of the cooking liquid. Jarred beans are often pre-seasoned, so make sure to add less salt (½ tsp per jar).

• Store leftovers in the fridge for 4-5 days, or freeze for a few months.

A Word About Using a Pressure Cooker

Using a pressure cooker is a great way to cook legumes from scratch in a matter of minutes. They turn out much more tender than when cooked in a regular pan, and they take a fraction of the time and energy–sometimes cutting the process by 90%. Since pressure cookers can vary slightly between brands, it’s always a good idea to check the manual for instructions specific to the one you own. Personally, I recommend the Fissler Vitavit Premium 3.5l (or larger).

It takes about 10 minutes to come to a boil and reach full pressure, then another 10 minutes for the beans to cook perfectly. At this point, you’ll need to depressurize the pan manually, which is the part many people are uncomfortable with due to the burst of steam. However, there is a hassle-free option: cook the beans for half the time, then turn off the heat and let the pan depressurize naturally. This takes 20-30 minutes, after which you can easily remove the lid without any steam shooting out.

Hope you enjoyed tucking in. See you next Friday!

Much love,Julius