Baked Beans

There are a few British things that I love that are quite hard to get here in France.   Actually, to be honest, they are not particularly hard to get, as there are a plethora of specialist British shops around.  It's just that, being a bit stingy, I refuse to pay the price those shops are charging.

One such thing is baked beans.   In the UK, baked beans are available in every grocery shop and range in price from a few pence per can up to about £1.00 per can.  Sometimes, I can't even tell the difference between the cheap one and the expensive one.  However, here in France I can only buy a fairly middle of the road variety and that will cost me the equivalent of way in excess of £1.

Kate over in Tasmania, offered me a solution whilst she was here a few months ago and gave me an easy to make recipe.  Since then I have made it quite a few times and made subtle changes.  I always liked the recipe but now, I think it's just a bit better....

This recipe would probably serve 6 people, served with salad and home made bread.   The recipe freezes well and I usually make this amount and then freeze in small portions

	Preparation time:        a couple of days (see method) Cooking time               1 hour plus 1 hour
Ingredients 1 1/2 cups coco haricot beans a dash of salt	Method Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain and recover with water , add a dash of salt and simmer for one hour
2 large onions 4 or 5 cloves garlic 100gms smoked belly of pork	Coarsely chop the onions and thinly slice the garlic then fry in a little oil.  Meanwhile, slice the belly of pork into small cubes and add to the pan and fry until the meat and onion are lightly cooked
1 tin tomatoes 2 tbl tomato paste 2 tbl brown sugar 1 tbl dark soy sauce 1 tbl fresh basil 1 tsp herbes de Provence 1 tsp fresh thyme	Combine the tomatoes, paste, sugar, soy sauce and herbs. Drain the beans and reserve the water
reserved cooking water + hot water to make up 2 cups Worcestershire sauce	Make the reserved cooking water up to 2 cups, then add all the ingredients into a casserole and add the water and a large dash of Worcestershire sauce.   Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for about an hour.  Add more water if needed to keep the consistency of a thick soup

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  It makes a great side dish with grilled ham, or serve on thickly cut toast as a nutritious breakfast.