Sunday, December 23, 2012

Home made baked beans


Carol’s Baked Beans Recipe (or pasta sauce)

Ingredients.
For each tin (or box)Haricot beans in water, drained and rinsed in clean water until clear.
Add:
1 Tin Chopped plum tomatoes
1 onion chopped finely
Fresh ginger amount to taste, 1.5 cm if unsure, peeled and chopped finely
Fresh Garlic peeled and chopped finely – from 2 cloves to as many as you like up to a whole bulb
Spices, I use my own ground mixture of fenugreek, coriander and cumin, with added dried fenugreek leaves, ground turmeric, either grind whole dried chillies into the own ground mix or add chilli powder. I also have added cinnamon and nutmeg.
Fresh or frozen chopped coriander (or basil), add a little or a lot if liked.
A little oil (I add a little butter  too).
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method.
First heat the oil (and butter if used) over a low heat in a large enough saucepan, and add the chopped garlic, onion and ginger, sauté until the onion is going transparent.
Add the spices and continue to fry gently stirring all the time for 30 seconds to a minute, then remove from the heat so they don’t burn and add the tin of chopped tomatoes.
Return to the heat and stir while heating, and add haricot beans and chopped herbs and stir well, and continue to heat until the beans have absorbed the flavour of the sauce.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Alternatives ideas:
Leave out the beans and use the sauce as a base for any pasta dish, or vegetable dish.
Use cannellini beans or chick peas or any other beans of choice.
Add vegetables (fresh beans, peppers, whatever you like) to the sauce with the beans and simmer until the vegetables are cooked.