Aaron'S Amazing Simple Beans - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 pound dried red kidney beans, rinsed
2 quarts water
1 Moroccan-style preserved lemon, or to taste
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small red chile pepper, halved lengthwise
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon anise seed

Preparation

Place kidney beans into a large container and cover with about 1 quart water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Drain.
Combine beans, 1 quart water, preserved lemon, sugar, black pepper, red chile pepper, bay leaf, garlic powder, and anise seed in a stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover stockpot, and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove lemon, bay leaf, and red chile pepper from bean mixture. Mash about 10% of the beans against the sides of the stockpot using the back of a spoon. Cover stockpot and simmer for 45 minutes more.
Remove cover from stockpot and simmer beans until beans are thickened and water is evaporated, about 15 minutes more.