Mum’s Baked Beans

Mum’s Baked Beans (vegetarian)

Childhood memories come flooding back. This was my go-to snack after school. It was tasty and wholesome, and kept me happy until dinner.

Today baked beans are readily available in a can. They are high in protein and fibre and that’s a good thing, however, the canned version is also high in simple sugars – around 4 teaspoons per can! Yikes! So, it’s time to make your own with this simple tasty recipe.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 kg roma tomatoes (as ripe as possible), chopped

480 g cooked borlotti or navy beans (about 2 tins drained organic beans)

Pinch sea salt

1 tablespoon organic maple syrup (to balance acidity of tomatoes)

1 tablespoon butter (organic is best)

2 tablespoons parsley chopped

Method

1. Combine onion and olive oil into a pan and sauté for 3 minutes until lightly golden.

2. Add chopped tomatoes and toss through.

3. Cover and reduce the heat slightly then cook for about 8 minutes or until tomatoes have collapsed and have formed a lovely sauce.

4. Add beans, sea salt and maple syrup then cook for a further 5 minutes until the beans have heated through.

5. Add the butter and parsley then mix through until butter has emulsified through the tomato sauce.

Serve and enjoy as a snack or the main of any meal, or as a side to organic eggs and toasted sourdough.

The non-vegetarian option – serve over a rasher of crisp smoky bacon.