Busy Boston Baked Beans
Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 07:07AM 
Baked beans are a bit of a British institution, there being few in this country who don’t have a tin stashed in their cupboards for those days when cooking just seems all too much. I believe that Boston Baked Beans are similarly imbedded in the American psyche; their slow baked, smoky flavour is the stuff nations were built on. They also, traditionally, take hours to cook. These Busy Boston Baked Beans are a merging of the two: the depth of flavour and baked texture of the American with the speed (plus some, admittedly) and ease of the British. I promise, once you’ve made these fellas, the tinned variety will never seem quite the same.
Customarily, you would use a combination of dried beans, spices, molasses and pork belly to produce the intensity of flavour. I like to use two thick slabs of smoked bacon to replace the pork belly – it adds a wonderful flavour in far less of the time, while using tinned haricot beans means that you can be ready to eat them within the hour. And eat them you will want to, after catching a waft of their heavenly scent. Being American and all (the beans, not me) I rather love to serve them with a big wedge of cornbread. Alternatively, they go just as well with slices of toasted rye bread, or a big, steaming baked potato. Equally, they are pretty impressive served as part of a cooked breakfast – they will make you very popular on a Sunday morning, I promise. If you wanted to you could easily make them vegetarian by simply leaving out the smoked bacon, the flavours produced are still wonderfully comforting, if a little less mellow.
BUSY BOSTON BAKED BEANS
Serves 4
You will need a oven proof casserole pan with lid for this dish
2 x 200g tin of haricot beans, drained and rinsed
2 slices of smoked bacon steaks or 6 rashers of smoked back bacon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion
1 clove of garlic
1 small bay leaf
1 heaped tsp mustard flour
1 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
2 tbsp tomato puree
200ml passata or the drained juice from a tin of chopped tomatoes topped up with water if necessary (you can keep the remaining chopped tomatoes for another dish)
Preheat the oven to 140c (120c Fan). Slice the bacon in to cubes or thin slices depending on whether you are using steaks or rashers. Finely chop the onion and garlic and set aside. Pour the olive oil into the casserole and heat over a medium flame. Once hot, add the bacon and fry until golden and nearly crisp. Scoop out the bacon with a slotted spoon, turn down the heat and add the onion and garlic to the pan. Season well and fry the onion and garlic gently until soft, then add the beans to the pan. Stir together until the beans are warmed through.
Pour over the passata and add the mustard flour, sugar, treacle, tomato puree and bay leaf to the beans. Gently stir the sauce into the beans until all the ingredients are combined. Stir in the cooked bacon then cover the pan and cook in the oven for 1 hour, checking intermittently that the beans haven’t become dry - if you think they have then add a dash of water and continue to cook.
Reader Comments (8)
pippa, these look wonderful - i am a big fan of everything boston (as you know) so i'll have to try making these sometime... unfortunately sans bacon!
x
Hey Molly, thought the Boston thing might appeal to you. I love the place and I love the beans! You could always add a pinch of smoked paprika instead of the bacon - it will add a little extra depth. Enjoy
Yes please - these look good and I want them with cornbread!
I couldn't agree more! I would give you my cornbread recipe but it's currently classified! Try them with a baked potato - so basic but such a good combination.
Love this dish! Great for sticking-to-your-ribs on a cold night. Yumm...
With age came me being more comfortable with myself. I wish I'd felt that way when I was younger!
-best BENZ phones
UBB
-replica D & G Leather Shoesin the hour. And eat them you will want to, after catching a waft of their heavenly scent. Being American and all (the beans, not me) I rather love to serve them with a big wedge of cornbread. Alternatively, they go just as well with slices of toasted rye bread, or a big, steaming baked potato. Equally, they are pretty impressive served as part of a cooked breakfast – they will make you very popular on a Sunday
That was my thought,too. negety negety - supra shoes.