Haricot bean salad, grecian style

8 oz (225 gm) haricot beans
1 bayleaf
8 Tbs olive oil or half olive, half vegetable oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 pint (150 ml) water
2 cloves garlic, crushed,
1 onion, peeled
1 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp tomato puree
2 sprigs thyme

1. Soak the beans for a couple of hours or so, then drain them and rinse them and cook them in plenty of water until nearly tender; drain.
2. Heat the oil in a good sized saucepan, add the beans and cook them very gently for about 10 minutes, then stir in the garlic, sea salt, tomato puree, thyme, bayleaf and water (you can use some of the water in which the beans were cooked) and simmer gently, without a lid, until the liquid has reduced to a thick, terracotta-coloured sauce and the beans are tender.
3. Cool, then add the lemon juice and the onion, sliced into thin rounds. Season with more sea salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary.
4. Chill the salad and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.