Morrocan Spiced Beans

This is a Moroccan version of the american/mexican/cuban baked beans although I would be surprised if it is a traditional Moroccan dish, it seems to me a bit more like some cross over type of dish. Anyway it tastes extremely good.

Ingredients;

2 cans white beans like kidney beans (or you could use dry ones and soke them overnight...my planning is most of the time not good enough for that version)
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2 carrots finely diced
3 stalks of celery finely dices
1 leek finely diced
2 oranges
4 tomatoes, finely diced but not as small as the other vegetables
Olive oil for the casserole
1 oz bacon, diced
1 tbs tomato paste
1 bunch thyme
2 tbsp Ras el Hanout
1 can (14 oz) chicken stock (or more or less, this  depends on how liquified you want your beans)
Salt

Peel and dice onions and garlic. Wash, peel and dice the rest of the vegetables (I did not peel the tomatoes). Peel the orange, remove the white skin, half and slice.

Heat olive oil in a casserole, brown onions and bacon (diced). Add the vegetables (not the tomatoes) and garlic and brown at medium heat. Add tomato paste, drained beans, oranges, tomatoes and thyme and season with the Ras el Hanout, salt and pepper. Simmer until the spices has blended well and the liquid has reduced to your liking. Taste and season more if needed. Remove orange slices.

This bean casserole works well with all kinds of meat but I especially like it with lamb or chicken!