Why would you make your own ‘Baked Beans’….. because they are delicious! They are sweet, sticky  and with the looming Autumnal weather they are perfect with Sausages and Mash. Make extra and freeze them for bonfire night!

Serves 4-6

500g dried haricot beans, picked over for any broken beans
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
2 litres water

For the sauce

1/2 tbsp oil
180g smoked bacon lardons
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
700ml water
130g tomato ketchup
100g molasses or black treacle
40g brown sugar
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

To speed up the whole process this dish is made in the pressure cooker, however this is not a necessity and can be made in the oven; to do this the beans will need to be soaked for at least 8 hours in cold water before use.

Method

1. Place the dried beans, salt, oil and 2 litres of water into the pressure cooker and secure the lid. Cook under pressure for 3 minutes, then release the pressure immediately, taking care as beans can foam during cooking. Drain the beans and set aside for a minute.

2. Place the cooking pot back into the unit and add the oil. Saute the bacon until crisp then add the onions and soften.

3. Add all the remaining ingredients into the cooking pot and add the beans back into the pot. Cook under pressure on the Beans/Tenderise setting for 45 minutes. When cooking has finished let the pressure release naturally.

4. Test the beans to make sure they are tender; they should just have a little bite to them, if you need to thicken up the sauce a little, simply cook on the saute function to reduce the sauce.

Enjoy 🙂

Tip: When cooking in the oven

After soaking; drain the beans and then bring them to the boil in a pan of water for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam, then drain and set aside. Follow the instructions above using an oven proof pan but add a little extra water and cook them low and slow for a couple of hours in the oven on 160C/gas mark 4. Keep checking periodically and add some additional boiling water if they are drying out slightly.