Baked beans

[Odsox]

Does anyone have a recipe for ordinary baked beans ?
NOT Boston baked beans or any other fancy bean bake concoction ... just plain old Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce.

I'm ashamed to say that I love tinned baked beans and as it's the only commercial vegetable item that I buy, it would be very nice to make my own.
I have plenty of home grown dried haricot and cannellini beans and plenty of home grown tomato purée and a slow cooker ... it just need all putting together and I intend to experiment doing just that.
But, if anyone has already successfully done that it might save me from possible semi-edible concoctions

[red]

this is mine

[Annpan]

Wow, thanks red, I have tried my own before but they never worked out - They were beans in a tomato sauce but the taste just wasn't right.

I like tinned beans too, and so does LO, she could eat a full tin herself, but I worry about the sugar and salt levels

[red]

well they are not teh same as tinned beans... still resemmble vegetables! you will prolly have to tweak the recipe about for your liking - but its a place to start

I like tinned BBs too - I thinkthere are worse processed foods

[Odsox]

Thanks for that Red, I will soak some beans tonight and try that tomorrow.
The ingredients on my tin of beans are ...
beans 40%, tomatoes 27.5%, water, sugar, maize starch (cornflour ?), glucose-fructose syrup, salt, acetic acid, paprika, cayenne pepper & celery.
So maybe I will omit the allspice and add a small stick of celery.
I'll let you know what it tastes like.

[Annpan]

I like tinned BBs too - I thinkthere are worse processed foods

Oh, don't say that - sometime it is all I can get E to eat.... and I tell myself 'at least it is beans' She first got them by stealing them off of my plate, then she started asking for them and if we are out a baked potato and beans is ALWAYS available from whatever cafe we end up in...

[missy]

i have to admit i also love baked beans.

i tried abel and cole's organic baked beans this week, and although they tasted slightly different from the supermarket ones i'm used too, they were very nice.

[shell]

have to say baked beans are used alot here,chilli,shepards pie,on toast etc,would be good to try and cook my own,so thanks red ,another recipe for my to do folder

[red]

I like tinned BBs too - I thinkthere are worse processed foods

Oh, don't say that - sometime it is all I can get E to eat.... and I tell myself 'at least it is beans' She first got them by stealing them off of my plate, then she started asking for them and if we are out a baked potato and beans is ALWAYS available from whatever cafe we end up in...

what i was saying was there are worse things in a processed way than baked beans. i think baked beans are a fairly healthy thing to eat. - now.. squirty cheese, battery chicken nugget things.. those are bad....

[eccentric_emma]

i LOVE baked beans. i tried Whole Earth's baked beans recently (usually extortionately priced but were on offer), and they were amazing. Full of interesting spices, but close enough to 'normal' baked beans. I was extremely inventive and had them on toast!

The recipe looks good though, I have heaps of beans in the freezer so will give them a go.

[Annpan]

I like tinned BBs too - I thinkthere are worse processed foods

Oh, don't say that - sometime it is all I can get E to eat.... and I tell myself 'at least it is beans' She first got them by stealing them off of my plate, then she started asking for them and if we are out a baked potato and beans is ALWAYS available from whatever cafe we end up in...

what i was saying was there are worse things in a processed way than baked beans. i think baked beans are a fairly healthy thing to eat. - now.. squirty cheese, battery chicken nugget things.. those are bad....

Doh!


*note to self.... read the words that you see on the screen and stop having imaginary conversations

[contadina]

But homemade ones are so much nicer and you can use any beans - just make sure they're fairly soft after first boil or you'll be farting loads. Also you can add other veg such as courgette or peppers, or change the herbs and spices, just make sure its got a bit of sweet, sour and spice.

350g beans (black-eyed,haricot, cannelloni and borlotti are all good) soaked over night, 700g if using tinned beans
1tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 crushed garlic cloves
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp ground coriander
1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 and half cans of tomatoes
1 tbsp sugar
2tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp tomato puree
quarter pint water
salt and pepper

Drain and rinse beans well (essential if you want to limit farting power). Put in saucepan with double their volume of water. Bring too boil and boil steadily for 10 mins, then lower heat, cover and simmer for 30 mins or until beans soft. Drain.

Preheat oven to 200% (400%F/gas 6) heat oil in casserole dish (on hob) and add onion, garlic, cumin and coriander. Cook stirring occasionally until onion soft. Add apple and carrot for a few mins. Add everything else, cover with lid and and shove in oven for about 40 mins.

[Odsox]

But homemade ones are so much nicer and you can use any beans - just make sure they're fairly soft after first boil or you'll be farting loads. Also you can add other veg such as courgette or peppers, or change the herbs and spices, just make sure its got a bit of sweet, sour and spice.

Yes, I agree ... but this is not what I was asking.
I've tried all sorts of bean bakes, from Boston baked beans that take days to cook, to plain haricots cooked in onion sauce and many in between, and loved them all in their way.
BUT, I love tinned baked beans ... the cheaper the better (not Heinz or Bachelors) and stodgy too, simmered till there's no runny juice left, how weird is that?
In all the many cookbooks that I have there are no recipes for "baked beans" (culinary snobbery?) and Googling came up with a myriad of fancy bean bakes, but no secret recipe for baked beans in tomato sauce.
Anyway, last night I soaked 200g of cannellinis and will experiment later with a mixture of Reds recipe and my own ideas.

[red]

i think baked beans are supposed to be boston baked beans.. but are not a very good version of the recipe... but we all like it the way it is!

to try for that particularly flavour i would look at making a roasted tomato sauce, rather than using tinned or fresh tomatoes

i make my RTS by packing a baking dish with tomatoes, drissling with olive oil and then roasting until the tomatoes have burst etc. then blend the lot. its more concentrated, and the oil adds a creaminess.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Drain and rinse beans well (essential if you want to limit farting power).

If, on the other hand, you wish to keep the children occupied, under cook just slightly and for heaven's sake avoid naked flames

I love beans in all forms. Even butter beans. Heinz's finest are £1.25 here, so definately a luxury item. I shall be trying both Contadina's and Red's recipes because I am always looking for new ways.

At the moment, I use Rose Elliot's Boston beans recipe, but I add a little fried chorizo for interest.