Tsaramaso Malagasy (White Bean Tomato Stew)
Updated Jan. 13, 2021
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
- ½pound dried white beans, rinsed well and drained (see Tip)
- 3large tomatoes, preferably Roma
- Kosher salt
- ¼cup canola oil
- 1large red onion, thinly sliced
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
345 calories; 14 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 42 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 519 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place the beans in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Set the pot over high heat and bring to a boil, then turn the heat as low as it can go and partly cover the pot so steam can escape. Simmer the beans, stirring them every so often, until they’re tender, anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, depending on whether they’ve been soaked and how old they are. Make sure the beans are covered with water at all times, adding more hot water to the pot as needed if too much evaporates.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, slice off and discard the tops of the tomatoes, and squeeze out and discard the seeds. Thinly slice the tomatoes and set them aside.
- Step 3
Once the beans are done cooking, season them to taste with salt. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain the beans. (Discard the remaining liquid or reserve for another use, such as adding to a soup.)
- Step 4
Place the oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot and set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion sizzles and starts to take on a little color at the edges, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in the sliced tomatoes, cover and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 2 minutes. Stir in the beans with the 1 cup reserved cooking liquid. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Uncover and allow the beans to boil until the mixture has thickened significantly but remains soupy, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Step 5
Season the beans to taste with salt one final time and serve hot. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a few days. You can rewarm any remaining soup in a pot set over low heat, stirring occasionally while you heat and adding water if needed.
- If possible, soak your beans overnight (covered with cold water by 2 inches) before cooking them to help them cook more evenly and to reduce their cooking time. If you don’t soak them, no worries; it might just take a little longer to cook them.
Private Notes
Comments
I will accept the challenge of making a recipe as written - at least the first time. ;) Maybe the NYT Cooking folks could help out with the challenge by adding measurements to ingredients like "large onion" or "3 tomatoes". It seems easy to add "large onion - 12 oz" to recipes. I always have a kitchen scale at the ready when I cook. I note the # of grams I use in recipes that are vague.
Starting here and now, I accept the challenge as written in the attached article, to listen carefully and follow exactly these types of recipes, in order to experience what the author intended. This results of this lovely gem of a recipe, however, will vary because three large tomatoes, especially Roma-type, is not a standard I can exactly match.
I found a similar recipe, Tsaramaso Pyn, in "Mankafy Sakafo: Delicious Meals from Madagascar" by Jill A. Donenfeld (iUniverse, 2007). With a mortar and pestle, mash 2 tsp garlic, 1 1/2 tsp ginger, & 1 tsp salt. Sauté the garlic mash in 1/4 cup hot oil with 1/2 chopped red onion. Then add 6 chopped plum tomatoes & 1 oz tomato paste. Add the cooked beans (4 cups), as per recipe, & sauté a bit. Then add enough water to barely cover them, let simmer covered for 15 mins. With spices, it's tastier!
As delicious as I knew it was going to be when I first saw the pic and read the recipe. It blows my mind that a dish of so few ingredients can pack such a punch. I love the complexity of textures, too — silky, creamy and just a tad crunchy. I used one 15 oz can of cannellini beans and don’t regret it. I’m not convinced the dish would be any better had I used dried beans. Plus it saved me a bunch of time. I reserved the bean liquid and topped it off with water, adding ~1 1/8 cups of the mixture to the dish. I also used olive oil instead of canola, which is definitely the way to go. Finally, I live in California and it’s peak tomato season! I used four fat, juicy Romas, which was perfect (it doesn’t take any special skill to distinguish between a large, medium and small tomato or onion, btw). If tomatoes are not in season, I might sub fresh for canned San Marzanos, as others have suggested.
Loved this!! Have vegan family member so I made this, pureed some silken tofu w tomatoes to make it creamy, added toasted cumin, and cooked orzo in the broth, my toddlers decimated this!! We had leftovers so I added shredded chicken and cumin, served on rice plus cilantro and some tortillas and my husband was happy!’
I fully admit that I took some liberties with the recipe as written: used canned beans (!), olive oil instead of canola, added one garlic clove, a pinch of red pepper flakes and a pinch of smoked paprika. But I think it retained the spirit of the recipe and was still delicious, if a bit more highly spiced!