baked beans – bFeedme

Baked beans are deliciously filling. It is best eaten with bread or even as a soup. This recipe is a meal in itself which is perfect for breakfast. This dish is meant to be sweet, but you can give it some zing by adding chili if desired.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 large brown onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

250g bacon, chopped

2 400g cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

400g can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 180C. After, heat the oil in an oven proof casserole dish over medium heat. Fry the garlic, onions and bacon in the casserole dish until the bacon becomes soft. Add the beans, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, sugar and cold water. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat and cover the dish. Bake it for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake it for another 30 minutes until the sauce thickens. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with bread.

Photo Courtesy Of: Â marcelo trÃ¤sel

Beans are great for dips and stews. Not everyone appreciates them, because it takes a while to prepare them. I am a big fan despite this. We make sure that we soak the beans and cook them in a pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time in half.

Cassoulet is a slow cooked bean stew with meat that originated in France. It was named after a pot called cassole. There is no specific type of meat used for this dish. You may use leftovers or even duck if you wish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup dried cannellini beans

2 teaspoons olive oil

500g pork belly, cut into 2cm pieces

2 garlic sausages, sliced

2 chicken or breast fillets

2 brown onions, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

4 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

4 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

1 small stick of butter, melted

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Soak beans in cold water overnight.

Preheat oven to 280F.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pan Â or cassoulet over medium heat. Fry the pork in batches for 8-10 minutes or until they are golden brown. Transfer to a large bowl.

In the same pan, cook the sausages for 5 minutes or until it is browned. Remove from the pan and place in the same bowl where the pork is.

After, fry the chicken or duck fillets for 4-5 minutes on each side or until it is light brown. Drain excess oil and transfer to the bowl with the pork and sausages.

SautÃ© the garlic and onion in the same pan for 3-5 minutes or until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Add the pork, sausages, duck, tomatoes, rosemary and thyme. Drain the beans and add it to the saucepan. Pour in the stock. Bring to a boil.

Remove the pan from heat and bake it covered for 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are soft. After remove the duck or chicken fillets and cut them into bite size pieces. Return them to the pan.

Combine the melted butter and bread crumbs in a bowl. Mix well. Sprinkle it over the cassoulet. Bake it for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Photo Courtesy Of: skampy