This is called Middle Eastern broad bean stew and not Moroccan, because I have also borrowed flavours from my Lebanese roots. The first time my carnivorous partner tried it, he honestly thought it contained meat. To make this dish completely vegetarian/vegan, omit the anchovies. Serve with steamed basmati rice or couscous.
I thought the broad beans would soften up a lot more with the long cooking time but they were still pretty chewy. Perhaps I need to double pod them (which would be a very time consuming thing to do but probably would be less tanin and less fibrous) - my family weren't that keen. I liked the flavour and ate all mine but there were lots of broadbeans left on others plates....unfortunately I have a lot in the freezer as I made a double batch hoping to use up some broadbeans......might take a bit to get through!! - 25 Apr 2010
The pomegranate molasses ruined what would have been a lovely meal. Three tablespoons of the molasses made the whole dish very tangy and uneatable. - 24 Sep 2014
I made this, but didn't have any peppers or fava beans (I would have substituted frozen soya beans or tinned chickpeas for them, but I was out of them as well). Since I don't like hot dishes, I substituted peppercorns for the red pepper flakes as well. I also added some quorn chunks, as I had them out to make another dish before I decided to use this recipe. It came out "okay", but not really so special, and a bit over-tomatoey. Since we had enough left for the next meal, I added spinach to it, as well as paunchparum spices (a combination of fennel, fenugreek, corriander, cumin and mustard seeds) roasted in some oil. And this time it was very yummy. I know that I've perhaps altered the dish beyond recognition, but it did turn out fine and I'll probably do it again. - 12 Aug 2008 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)