Spicy Black Beans - Vegan Comfort Food with warming spices

Ingredients

• 1 large red onion (any colour will work)
• Dash of oil (to sauté)
• 1 large garlic clove
• 100ml water
• 400g pre-cooked black beans
• 300ml passata (seived/strained tomatoes in a jar/bottle)
• 10 cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Twist of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• Pinch ground chilli
• 50g (¼ block) creamed coconut

Instructions

• Finely chop onion.
• Heat a dash of oil (I use coconut or olive oil) in a big pan and toss in the onion, stirring regularly for a couple of minutes.
• Crush garlic and toss in with the onion to sauté.
• Add the water, black beans and passata and bring to the boil. Once it's boiling turn down the heat to simmer the contents.
• Grind the cardamom seeds (after discarding the pods), with a pestle & mortar (or a sharp heavy knife) and add to the pan.
• Add the salt, pepper, coconut sugar, coriander, cinnamon, smoked paprika and chilli and mix in.
• Allow to cook for at least 15 minutes. Longer cooking is also great, if you have the time, to allow the flavours to dance and infuse together.
• Chop the creamed coconut (which comes in block form) and add near the end of the cooking period. Allow to melt in and infuse. If you don't have creamed coconut then use at least 100ml of coconut cream instead.
• This serves right away or keeps for up to a week in the fridge (the flavours will also continue to develop as the days go by too).