Baked Beans

It's funny what you miss when you move to a new country.

7 years ago, when I decamped from the UK to come and live here in France I was asked the question many times. My answer was always the  same and, at the time I believed it to be honest, Family, Friends, those kind of close personal things.  However, now that I have lived here for 7 years I realise that was wrong.  Yes, I do miss my family, yes I do miss my friends, but  with the internet and a telephone those people are just a short call away.  I keep in touch with my Family almost weekly and with my friends often.   On top of that, both my family and friends have discovered that I now live in a gorgeous part of Europe and that they have an ideal excuse to come and make a holiday here.  I'm delighted to say that both family and friends often come to visit and possibly, I now see a little more of them than before I moved.

So what do I really miss?   BAKED BEANS!

When I lived in the UK, I didn't even consider Baked Beans as part of my stock cupboard.  True, there was always a tin in there, but hey, it got used from time to time to supplement a quick easy meal or simply as a toast topping for a light supper.   Once I moved here I quickly discovered that Baked Beans, rather than the throw away item in the UK had graduated to a Gourmet food shelf and were being sold at about eight times the price. 

End of desire to have an occasional tin in the cupboard

Except, it wasn't.  I still made those easy meals from time to time, and there was no doubt about it, Baked Beans certainly improved the meal.  I compensated by bringing a few tins back from my occasional visits to the UK, Stubbornly refusing to accept the attitude that they were now a gourmet item.

Then, ages ago now, Kate, from down under, gave me a recipe and told me to make my own.   I had never even thought of this simple solution.

I gave it try and made my first batch which were delicious.  I subsequently made them regularly and kept them in the freezer. ready for those snacks.  I've even had a guy from England tell me they were the best baked beans he had ever tasted!!

Here's the recipe she gave me, all those years ago, modified over time to reflect what I now do.

Ian's Baked Beans

Preparation     30 mins
Waiting           24 hours
Cooking           2 ½ hours

Ingredients

	A	2 cups haricot coco white beans
	B	3 large cloves of garlic 3 medium onions 1 small pork chop
	C	1 400g tin tomatoes 1 140g tin tomato paste 2 tbs brown sugar 1 tbs soy sauce 1 tsp Herb de Provence (or mixed herbs) (dried)

 

Method

A.     Cover the beans with cold water and soak for 24 hours in a large casserole
         Drain and recover with lightly salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 ½ hours

B.     Peel and finely chop the garlic and onion. 
       Chop the pork into small cubes and then sauté them all in a little oil. 
        Include the pork chop bone

C.    Combine all ingredients at C and mix well.
       Let stand until beans are cooked

When beans are cooked, drain them and reserve the water. 
Add the cooked onion mixture (B) and the combined tomato mixture (C). 
Add 2 cupfuls of the reserved water.      Make up with hot water if needed. 
Add a good dash of Worcestershire sauce. 
Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for one hour

 

Once cooled, the beans freeze well and keep for several months.

Although, to be honest, mine don't keep at all, they just get eaten!

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.