Sometimes a flavor combo comes into my mind and I’m like “oh yeah, this one is THE ONE.” It doesn’t happen often (this carrot salad is the most recent instance I can remember), so when it does happen, I really hype it up. Some flavor combinations are just meant to blow minds! And a simple stewed tomato recipe covered in saffron vinaigrette and paired with turmeric onions? It sounds complicated, but it’s quick, and amazing. I need to find other adjectives to accurately convince you how good this Saffron Oil Tomatoes & Beans recipe is, but I hope you’ll just take my word for it.
If you are looking for a filling, unique, wholesome (and healthy!) plant-based dinner, this one is a great choice. One can of beans ends up serving two people, and the whole portion is vegetable packed. It’s a dinner crowd-pleaser for meat eaters and vegetarians combined, and I absolutely love how good it makes me feel. Almost as much as I love how it tastes.
Table of contents
Ingredients you will need for these Saffron Oil Tomatoes and Beans
This recipe is vegetable-packed, here’s everything you’ll need to make it happen:
- 1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 medium lime
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, ground coriander, and ground cumin
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup torn tender herbs, such as dill, parsley, cilantro, mint
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 small Birdseye chilies chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 14-ounce can of butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, packed
- 1 medium ice cube, about 1-2 tablespoons worth of water
- Toasted bread or steamed white rice for serving
What is a saffron vinaigrette?
Saffron is an interesting spice because it’s more aromatic than anything, and a saffron vinaigrette at first felt really counterintuitive to me. I was worried that if I added too much to bloomed saffron water, it would drown the flavor of this special (and expensive!) spice. And if you’re paying $$$ for something, I want you to be able to taste it!
So this saffron vinaigrette is all about keeping thing simple. A touch of oil, a bit of lime juice, and bloomed saffron water. It won’t completely emulsify, but it gets pretty close, and the payoff of drizzling it over the tomato beans is well worth it.
What does it mean to “bloom” saffron?
Saffron threads must be crushed and bloomed before they are used in a recipe like this. I learned that from Nasim Alikhani, the chef at the popular Brooklyn restaurant, Sofreh. And I thank her for it daily.
To bloom saffron, first you have to grind the threads into a powder with a mortar and pestle. Then the preferred way to “bloom” it is to let ice melt over the crushed saffron, slowly turning it into saffron water and pulling out its flavor. To speed up the process, I tend to add ice cubes directly to my mortar and pestle and crush them in with the saffron powder. This lets the ice melt quicker, so you get the same result in a shorter time frame!
After it’s “bloomed,” the saffron is good to use!
What is the point of marinating the onions in this recipe?
The onions in this recipe turn into a onion-herb-salad of sorts, and letting them rest in the spices, lime juice and salt is integral to the finished result of the recipe. This is because acid quickly “pickles” the onions, mellowing their sharp flavor and allowing the spices to marry with the onions. It might just be a few minutes of marinating time while you prep the tomato beans, but the way it mellows the bite of the onion and builds flavor in the salad makes all the difference.
Looking for similar lunch or dinner ideas?
Here are a few that I deem just as flavorful, and just as special:
And that’s it for this Saffron Oil Tomatoes recipe!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Saffron Oil Tomatoes & Beans
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 mortar and pestle
- 1 large sauté pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 medium lime
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, ground coriander, and ground cumin
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup torn tender herbs such as dill, parsley, cilantro, mint
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves grated
- 2 small Birdseye chilies chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 14-ounce can of butter beans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads packed
- 1 medium ice cube about 1-2 tablespoons worth of water
- Toasted bread or steamed white rice for serving
Instructions
- Add half of the portion of sliced onion to a medium sized bowl. Squeeze the juice from half a lime over the onion. Add the turmeric, coriander, cumin, a pinch of salt, and a few cracks of black pepper, and mix. Add in the herbs and set to the side.
- Set a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and let it heat up for a few minutes before adding the remaining sliced onions. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion is beginning to soften. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Add the garlic and chilies and stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the garlic is beginning to turn golden. Then add the tomatoes and stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes to let the tomatoes break down. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- Add the beans to the pan and let this tomato mixture simmer for 4-5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. While the mixture is simmering, add the saffron threads to a mortar and pestle bowl and crush them into a powder. Add the ice cube and crush it in with the saffron powder to "bloom" the saffron.
- When the ice cube has fully melted, squeeze in the remaining half of the lime, and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Whisk this vigorously, it won't fully emulsify, but it will get close and turn into a saffron vinaigrette of sorts. Season with a small touch of salt.
- Remove the tomatoes from the heat. Toss the herbs and turmeric onion together so that you have a marinated onion salad of sorts.
- To serve, portion the tomato beans into two bowls, add a portion of the turmeric onions to each bowl. Drizzle the saffron oil directly on top of the tomatoes. Serve with either freshly toasted bread or white rice.
I made this recipe it was wonderful. I will be making it again. I did manage to put hot pepper in the onion salad and the beans. It was still delicious.