Home made “not baked” beans an easy to make Comfort Food recipe

When it comes to comfort foods I have a long list - I just love food! A full English Breakfast has to be close to the top - bacon, sausage, black puddings, eggs and baked beans. Really it's good at any time of the day not just for breakfast.

Admittedly I could leave out baked beans but Carl likes them so I always used to try and have a tin in the pantry. When we were craving a proper full English breakfast and didn’t have any I had to make beans from scratch.

Now the law has been passed by Carl he said the home made are way better than Heinz beans - I just made myself more work lol. They are easy to do so I just make up large batches and freeze them now.

It's a great recipe for using up saved bacon fat or smoked ham bones (even the small ones in a ham steak can be added for a great smoky flavour)

This is not baked but made on the stovetop and you can freeze the leftovers. It works well with both tinned and dried beans - we like dried navy beans, it just takes longer to make.

You can also add some leftover cooked sliced sausages to the beans. Top with some bacony breadcrumbs (Pulse 3 or 4 slices in a food processor with a small amount of melted bacon fat and a clove of garlic) Put under the grill to crisp up. Quick, easy and Delish!

These are also great served with sausage rolls or cheese and onion pie.

(Not Baked) - Baked Beans

Ingredients

• 9 oz dried beans (or 1.5lb drained beans) - You can use any you like - I use dried navy beans or tinned black beans

• 1 dried bay leaf

• 1 tbsp bacon fat/butter or lard

• 1 large onion diced

• 1 stick celery

• 2 cloves garlic grated

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2tsp smoked paprika

• 3⁄4 tsp dried oregano

• 3⁄4 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tbsp tomato puree

• 1 tin whole tomatoes

• 1 tbsp molasses

• 500 ml berkshire pork bone broth

• 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce

• 1 tbsp butter

• Salt and pepper to taste

  1.If using dried beans cook them according to package instructions with the bay leaf.

  2. In a separate large pan heat bacon fat (or lard or butter) over medium heat and fry diced onions for about 10 mins until soft.

  3. Stir in celery, garlic, spices and herbs and cook gently for 5 mins.

  4. Turn up the heat and add tomato puree, tomatoes, molasses, pork bone broth, salt and pepper and cook for 30 mins

  5. Add the beans and simmer with a lid on for 30 mins. Remove lid towards the end to thicken the sauce if needed.

  6. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter then add tamari - it is salty so add a bit at a time and keep tasting before adding more. Tips - For a smoky flavour you can add a smoked ham bone or use smoky bacon fat.

enjoy!