This recipe is inspired by NZ’s The Food Truck TV series, with some serious Beauty Foodie adaptations. Now, it’s important to note that, I’d only eat regular baked beans if there’d been a natural disaster and we were forced to devour the food stuffs in our Household Emergency Survival Kit. These babies, on the other hand, are utterly yummo and made me do a complete 180 on my perspective on baked beans. Give this a whirl for Sunday brunch it makes for great tucker (damn good hangover food in my case!)
Serves 6-8 (as a side dish)
Ingredients
4 slices finely diced streaky bacon
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
4 tomatoes, diced
1 Tlb tomato purée
1 tsp dried thyme or fresh thyme leaves
1 Tlb Dijon mustard
2 Tlb brown sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 x 420g cans Five Bean Mix drained and rinsed (e.g. Craigs or Woolworths Select range)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Step 1: Sauté streaky bacon in a large heavy-based (e.g. cast iron) saucepan for two minutes. Add onion and garlic and smoked paprika and cook until transparent.
Step 2: Add tomatoes, tomato purée, thyme, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire Sauce and water, and stir well.
Step 3: Add beans and salt and pepper, and cook over a low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring regularly, until thoroughly heated and sauce is thick. If necessary, add another half a cup of water.
Step 4: Season to taste.
Serve beans on top of slice of warm crusty bread (toast good too). Ramp it up into a right top-notch feast by adding slices of grilled bacon and poached eggs…
