Baked beans

May 5, 2010

It’s definitely time to reach into the pot cupboard and pull out the casserole dishes.

My favourite is an enamelled cast iron casserole I’ve had for about 10 years. I use it for soups and stews and I’ve even made the occasional batch of no-knead bread in it. More recently I bought a smaller clay pot that can go from cooktop to stove, which is good for just the two of us. However, because winter casserole dishes usually taste doubly good the next day, I still like to use the large pot and make plenty so we have leftovers.

Homemade baked beans are infinitely better than canned ones and I have been making this recipe for many years. Initially I used haricot beans but these days I like to ring the changes. If you have a favourite variety of dried beans, substitute those. Sometimes I use half a ham hock instead of bacon

If you happen to have leftovers, try adding some stock and diced vegetables and brew up a batch of soup.

Baked beans

2 cup dried beans (eg haricot, kidney, borlotti or a mixture)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 stick celery, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
200g bacon – in a slab, if you can get it – diced
1 tablespoon seed mustard
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 tablespoon dried cumin
2 cups water or stock
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
salt

Soak the beans in plenty of cold water overnight. Rinse and drain.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole and sauté the onion, pepper, celery and diced bacon until the onion is soft and translucent. Stir in the golden syrup, cumin and mustard then add the beans, water, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil then place the casserole in a preheated 180C oven.

Bake until the beans are almost tender, checking the liquid level from time to time. Then season to taste and cook for a further 20 minutes .

Serve with fresh greens or a side salad and crusty bread.

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