Loubia — Moroccan White Bean Stew

Ingredients

• 1½ cups dried white beans, soaked overnight (or 3 cups cooked)
• 3 ripe tomatoes, grated
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 bay leaf
• Handful cilantro, chopped
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Simmer the soaked beans in unsalted water with the bay leaf until the skins wrinkle and the insides are creamy, 40–50 minutes. Salting early keeps them stubbornly firm, so wait.
2. Meanwhile cook the onion in the olive oil over medium until soft, then the garlic and spices for a minute until fragrant.
3. Add the grated tomatoes and cook 10 minutes until the mixture darkens and the oil separates at the edges.
4. Combine the beans with about 1 cup of their cooking liquid and the tomato base. Simmer 15 minutes, mashing a spoonful of beans against the pot to thicken it, and season generously with salt and pepper.
5. Stir in the cilantro off the heat. It is better on day two, and better still with a hunk of bread instead of cutlery.