How To Prepare Delicious Ethiopian Beans Stew

This is an Ethiopian-inspired chickpea stew for the fall/winter season. It does take some planning, but I have seen that soaking raw red kidney beans and cooking them over three hours results in a better stew than using canned red kidney beans. I am offering a substitute for the Berbere spice, which is a quintessential spice in this recipe. You can find this spice at your local Ethiopian store or on Spice and Tea Exchange.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 cup raw red kidney beans OR any beans of your choice

3 Tablespoons good quality olive oil

1 large white or red onion, thinly sliced

3 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 Tablespoon Berbere spice OR (1/2 teaspoon curry powder + 1/2 teaspoon ground sweet paprika + 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric + 1/2 teaspoon ground garam masala)

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 cups water OR vegetable stock

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

In a medium-size bowl, add red kidney beans and 4 cups water. Soak for 8 hours.

Drain the water and thoroughly rinse the beans under cold running water and set aside.

Bring vegetable stock to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, and onion. Saute for 5 minutes.

Add the ground spices and saute for 30 seconds.

Add the beans, salt, and the tomatoes. Mix.

Add vegetable stock, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook the stew for 2 1/2 hours. If the stew is watery, then cook it uncovered for yet another 30 minutes or until you obtain the desired consistency.

Garnish with parsley.