Baked beans (American/Boston style).

[Andrew Cumberland]

This is the bean dish that I made using the dried madagascar beans that I grew at our Christmas gathering.  Feel free to play with the recipe, adding things like mushrooms etc.  You can take the meat out if you like and increase or decrease the amounts of sugar to your own taste.  I also add chilli powder sometimes to spice it up.  

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 cups dried beans
• 3 bacon rashes
• 400g diced tomatoes
• 1 brown onion, halved, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

 

METHOD

• Place the beans in a large bowl and cover with plenty of water. Set aside for 8 hours or overnight to soak. Rinse and drain well.
• Place the beans, bacon, tomatoes, onion, garlic, water, sugar and syrup in a large pot.
• Cook covered, stirring occasionally,  until beans are just tender.  Then, cook, uncovered, until sauce thickens slightly.
• Taste and season with salt and pepper.

[Susan]

Thanks heaps Andy - I'm thinking about starting madagascar beans again

[Andrew Cumberland]

I love them.  Probably the best producing plant in my yard. 

[Stephen Choi]

Looks like a good recipe to try. First i need some seeds then i need to wait for a couple of years to harvest a crop. Would that count as slow food.

[Andrew Cumberland]

LOL.  Stephen, you'd plant those seeds and within 6 months be harvesting a truck load of beans.  Hmm.. I still think that counts as slow food as well. 

[Dianne Caswell]

Great Recipe Andy, I look forward to making this. I love recipes that look like they have left over potential.

[Andrew Cumberland]

Me too.  I did Bean and Ham soup in a pressure cooker today.  Most of the soup was done in all of 6 minutes.  I decided to add barley - from unsoaked in 30 minutes.  I'm lovin' the new fandangle cooker. 

[Dianne Caswell]

I would love to use a pressure but I am so scared of them. I had one blow it's top on me at Boarding School.

[Andrew Cumberland]

The new electric ones are super safe and easy.  I'll put a clip up of it being used to make soup in the next few days.  I got one second hand for $70!

[Elaine de Saxe]

My mum too. Tho she did use it constantly once she got used to it. As a kid I went with her to cooking demos and one presenter said 'Ladies you need to get used to eating your dinner from the ceiling once a week'. Mum put the new unused pressure cooker away in a cupboard and there it stayed for many years. In the late 40s in Sydney we had a lot of blackouts, the powerhouse guys and miners went on strikes and the pressure cooker would have been a boon. I had one too and melted the safety plug a few times, forgetting to put water in with the food. None blew up on me though. These days I prefer the slow cooker.

[Andrew Cumberland]

Oh you mockers of the modern era (well, older era re-invented).  I'm telling you now (and will be showing you soon) that they are safe and wonderful these days.  Having said that, I have two slow cookers, the slow smoker etc.  It's just horses for courses. 

[Elaine de Saxe]

For my limited needs, the slow cooker is Queen.

[Lissa]

I am starting to like the sound of these safe, non exploding electric pressure cookers Andy. One day.

As mentioned before it used to be my job to stand on the kitchen counter tops wiping the mess from the ceiling though Mum did use it a lot, mostly without problems.