Lūbīā Sabz Polō [Green Bean Rice | vegan]

Green Bean Rice | vegan

Origin: Widespread Homestyle

My mother-in-law, Fatemeh, used to make Lūbiā Polō, an everyday staple of steamed rice layered with green beans and spiced tomato sauce, regularly for her family, and when Mojdeh and I were in college, she kindly left the beef out of my portion. Simply omitting the meat left the dish feeling incomplete, and for a long time I found it tricky to get a vegetarian version right. The breakthrough came from learning how Persian home cooks prepare meatless Lūbiā Sabz Polō: anchoring the blistered green beans with a heavy base of caramelized onions and small, golden-seared potato cubes that soak up the saffron-and-cinnamon tomato sauce as the rice steams.

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes (plus 2 hours soaking time)
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Fresh Produce

• 1 lb (450g) fresh green beans
• 2 large yellow onions
• 3 ripe Roma tomatoes (about 12 oz / 340g)
• 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 oz / 340g)

Pantry

• 2½ cups (17.5 oz / 500g) long-grain rice
• 4 tbsp plus 2 tsp kosher salt
• 7 tbsp neutral oil
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp ground dried rose petals
• ½ tsp pure saffron threads
• 2 sheets thin flatbread

Preparation

• Rinse the rice in a large bowl with cool water, swirling gently with your hand and draining 4–5 times until the water runs clear. Cover the rinsed rice with cold water by about 2 inches, stir in 2 tbsp of the kosher salt, and let soak for 2–4 hours, then drain.
• Wash the green beans, trim off the stem ends, and cut crosswise into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces.
• Finely dice the yellow onions.
• Halve the Roma tomatoes and grate the flesh on the large holes of a box grater, discarding the skins.
• Peel the potatoes and cut into ½-inch (1 cm) cubes, rinse in cold water, and pat thoroughly dry with a clean kitchen towel.
• Using a small mortar and pestle, grind the saffron threads into a fine powder.

Instructions

• Bloom the saffron. Dissolve the ground saffron powder in 3 tbsp hot water and set aside to steep.
• Brown the potatoes. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 2 tbsp of the oil. Add the dried potato cubes in a single layer, season with ½ tsp of the kosher salt, and sauté for 6–8 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden-crisp on the outside. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Sauté the green beans. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the cut green beans and sauté in the pan oil for 8–10 minutes until bright green, tender, and lightly blistered. Transfer to the plate with the potatoes.
• Build the tomato base. Add 2 tbsp of the oil to the skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onions and sauté for 10–12 minutes until deep golden brown. Push the onions to the perimeter, add 1 tbsp of the oil and 4 tbsp tomato paste to the center of the pan, and fry for 2–3 minutes until darkened and brick-red, then stir into the onions. Add 1 tsp ground turmeric, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp of the ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground cardamom, and 1½ tsp of the kosher salt, and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
• Simmer the filling. Stir the grated tomatoes, sautéed green beans, ½ cup hot water, and 1 tbsp of the bloomed saffron water into the spiced onion mixture. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes until the green beans are tender and coated in a thick, glossy tomato sauce. Gently fold in the golden potato cubes and remove from the heat.
• Parboil the rice. Bring a large pot of water (8–10 cups / 1.9–2.4 L) to a rolling boil over high heat and stir in the remaining 2 tbsp kosher salt. Add the drained rice to the boiling water and cook briskly for 4–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the grains are soft on the outside with a firm center (al dente). Drain in a fine-mesh colander and rinse briefly with lukewarm water.
• Prepare the tahdīg. In a large heavy-bottomed nonstick pot (or the inner pot of a Persian rice cooker), combine 1 tbsp of the oil and 1 tbsp of the bloomed saffron water, swirling to coat the bottom. Line the bottom of the pot with the 2 sheets thin flatbread in a single overlapping layer.
• Layer the rice. Spoon a layer of parboiled rice over the flatbread, followed by a generous layer of the green bean and potato mixture and a dusting of the remaining 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp ground dried rose petals. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, building a pyramid in the center of the pot and finishing with a layer of rice. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke 5–6 vertical steam vents into the mound without piercing the flatbread base. Drizzle the remaining 1 tbsp bloomed saffron water and the remaining 1 tbsp oil over the top of the mound. Cover the pot with a lid wrapped in a damkonī or clean kitchen towel.
• Steam the rice.
  • On the Stovetop: Cook over medium-high heat for 8–10 minutes until you hear a steady sizzle from the bottom of the pot, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and steam for 45 minutes.
  • In a Persian Rice Cooker: Set the dial to your desired tahdīg darkness level and let the cooking cycle complete.
• Serve. Gently fold the layers of rice and filling together in the pot so the spiced tomato sauce tints the grains, taking care not to disturb the tahdīg. Mound the rice onto a large warm platter, break the crisp flatbread tahdīg into pieces, and arrange alongside the rice.

Tips

• Dusting half of the cinnamon and the dried rose petals (gol-e sorkh) directly between the rice layers in Step 8 allows the rising steam to carry their floral aroma through the entire pot.
• For a spiced, nutty crust (tahdīg-e nān-o-konjed), scatter ½ tsp of ground turmeric and 2 tbsp of raw white sesame seeds into the saffron-tinted oil across the bottom of the pot before laying down the flatbread in Step 7.
• Serve with cool plain yogurt, Māst-o-Khīyār, or Sālād-e Shīrāzī.