Having already cooked the Harissa black bean ragout and the Chickpea, paneer, spinach & preserved lemon stew, I have been eating my way through the Moreish Mains chapter in Sabrina Ghayour’s latest book, Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes. Call me a glutton, but I appreciate a hearty main. The latest recipe is the smoky black-eyed bean & tomato stew, aka. spicy, homemade baked – but not actually baked – beans.
First fry some onions and garlic, before adding a few common spices followed by two tins of chopped tomatoes and two tins of black eyed beans plus a bit of cocoa. Simmer for half an hour.
It did take me a minute or two to work out what you were supposed to do with the chopped tomatoes, as it said to drain one tin and keep the liquid from the second. I concluded that Sabrina meant to drain and discard the juice of one tin, and drain and reserve the juice from the other… to thin the stew (if necessary). That brief conundrum – probably obvious to most people – was the most complex part of this recipe. Not as easy as opening a tin of Branston beans (THE BEST), but not far off.
Smoky, rich, hearty and just sweet enough – this recipe is a good make-ahead to have in the fridge for many occasions. I’ve eaten the smoky black-eyed bean & tomato stew on toast and in a bowl, but the best way to serve was on top of some wonderfully floury, Irish potatoes. My favourite is the Golden Wonder and I love it when my family bring them back from Ireland for me. Any floury potato will do, but it really must be floury. Cheese optional.
If you wanted to try the recipe, you can find it in Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes or in an excerpt on the Telegraph website.
