#baked beans

Nutritionally, baked beans are actually pretty awesome. They tend to have a fair bit of sugar in the sauce, but baked beans and wholegrain toast are a fantastic quick/easy/cheap/nutritious meal for anyone. But if you’re like me and keep a bunch of 60 cent cans in the cupboard for when you’re skint, having them more than a few days in a row can start to get old.

So here’s how to jazz things up:

Garlic

Add garlic marg (dairy free) or garlic infused oil (add chopped, crushed or powdered garlic to a vegetable oil and leave it for a while before using) to toast.

Or mix it right in with the beans (if it’s crushed or chopped garlic you’ll need to let it simmer for a few minutes to let the garlic cook)

Spice it up

If you like it spicy, but can’t afford chilli beans (they’re three or four times the price of baked beans over here) you have some options.

Add some straight chilli powder or sauce and sweat it out.

Make something a little more complex, with garlic, onions, chilli powder, maybe even some capsicum. I quite like to add a touch of paprika, a splash of soy sauce, a little lemon juice/apple cider vinegar, some chopped celery, and some cumin, but that’s me. Mix and match to suit your tastes.

Creamy/Cheesey

If you’ve got a bit of almond milk or whatever non dairy milk you like, you can make baked beans really creamy with a couple of tablespoons to the can. You’ll want to simmer it a little bit longer so it thickens.

If you want a cheesier flavour, add a teaspoon of brewers/nutritional yeast. It has a very strong flavour, so add small amounts first until you know how much you like.

Add a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of apple cider vinegar if you want a sharp cheese taste.

Veggie stock

I find half a cube of veggie stock can add a nice flavour. For liquid stock I’d add about a quarter of a cup. Stir it in while heating, let it thicken, eat.

Herbs

Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, Basil and parsley are all really nice in baked beans. Add a little bit at a time and adjust according to your tastes. Dried herbs need a little more cooking before their flavour comes out.

Make a soup/stew 

Depending on what you’ve got going spare in the kitchen, baked beans can be a great way to use up leftover vegetables, and with some grains and legumes you can make it go a long way. If you don’t want big chunks of vegetables you can run them through the blender, most of the broccoli/cauliflower stalk we usually throw out can be used up this way).

I like to add some soy sauce, a cube (or cup if it’s liquid) of veggie stock, some garlic and onion, and then whatever else is around, plus enough water for it to cook in. For a more tomato based flavour I might add in a can of tomatoes. You could go in a totally different direction if you wanted though, non dairy milk goes well in soups and stews, you might find you end up with something more lentil based. Anything goes.

If the veggies or grains etc need to be cooked for a while you can simmer them in a pot, or add them to the crockpot, or even in the microwave.

Baked beans, turnip greens, and vegan twice baked potatoes

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You can visit the platform using my link below.
https://bakedbeans.io?ref=0x244D6DD927d7e93C10091f257cF6178501bF5DaF

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I had planned to post about these Southern Baked Beans before hearing of Leonard Nimoy’s passing. I was going to make a quip about how both Leonard McCoy and another great man both understood that there was “nothing like a campfire and a can of beans”. Instead, I think this dish acts as a great tribute to both Nimoy and the character of Spock, and perhaps most importantly, the friendship of Kirk, Spock and McCoy that defined The Original Series and gave us such hope for the future. 

This dish is of course an old McCoy family recipe, and having made it, I can see why it was passed down through the generations. While the film it appears in concentrates on more important questions (“What does God need with a starship?”), the camping scenes remind us of the core of Star Trek (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier). Many baked bean recipes use canned beans - this recipe uses dried beans that you soak overnight. The recipe is not difficult but will take a long time to cook, so bear that in mind when considering your timings. 

Vale Leonard Nimoy. Thankyou for helping to bring the world of Star Trek to us and reminding us of the possibilities. Travel far beyond the stars.

Replicate your own
(Serves at least 4 - more if you serve it as a side dish). 
(Based on this recipe but with alterations)

You will need to start the night before to soak the beans.

This recipe is very forgiving - all measurements are approximate.

500g / 1lb dried navy/haricot beans
300g / 2/3lb beef mince
200g / 1/2lb bacon, cut into small pieces
1 large onion, diced
1-2 green capsicums, diced
½ cup brown sugar
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ cup molasses or golden syrup
2 cups beef stock or water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup Tennessee Whiskey (I used Jack Daniel’s), divided into two ½ cups. 

The night before you want to cook the dish, place the dried beans in a large bowl. Pick them over and remove any discoloured or small, extra hard ones. Cover the beans with enough water so they are all submerged and leave to soak overnight. 

The next day, drain the beans and rinse them through. Set them aside while you prepare the rest of the dish. Start by chopping all your vegetables and measuring out your ingredients and preheat your oven to 150°C / 300°F.

In an oven-safe casserole dish or large cooking pot, place the diced bacon and cook gently until the bacon has released its fat and has started to crisp up. If you have a lot of fat you can drain some off - I didn’t, so I left it all in there.

Add the beef mince and break up, cooking it in the bacon fat until it is browned. Add everything to the pot with the bacon and beef: the drained beans, onion and capsicum, brown sugar, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, mustard, molasses/golden syrup and the beef stock / water. Stir it gently together.

Add ½ cup of Whiskey and stir in. Cover the pot either with the oven-safe lid or with aluminium foil, and place in the oven for a minimum of 2 hours. 

After the 2 hours is up, take the beans out of the oven and test for flavourings. Add the black pepper, and if required, the salt. Take the lid off the pot and return to the oven for another hour or until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened.

To serve, stir in the remaining ½ cup of Whiskey and ladle into bowls. Best eaten around a campfire with good friends.