Home Made Baked Beans

Before we go any further, a confession - I can't stand tinned Baked Beans.  I know that marks me out as a food heretic in many people's eyes, but it's true.  Luckily it's about my only weakness when it comes to food - I will eat anything else (oh apart from Salad Creme - tastes like mayo that's gone off... Maybe I just have a thing against Heinz products, apart from Oxtail Soup, which is wonderful!)

So why am I finding myself writing a recipe for what is essentially glorified baked beans?  Well...  I think I may have mentioned that it's been my birthday recently - and if you feel the need, contact me for a present list, I don't mind if they are belated (Hallmark make cards for every occasion...) and as a special birthday present, Team Soup de-camped to Cambridge for the weekend to, umm, camp.  On the way we stopped off at Melton Mowbray to sample some rather amazing pies, ate delicious Wild Boar sausages in a pub near our campsite and I also had cooked for me a brilliant Steak and Kidney pie a la Delia (my special birthday meal)



Because we were arriving at the campsite late (and being surrounded by angry cockneys, but this wasn't part of the planned celebrations)  I decided to make a stew or casserole to take with us and then re-heat on the camping stove, to replenish us after a long journey and also to save us from BBQ-ing in the dark.  And it was then I remembered this meal.  The friend who gave the recipe to me said it wasn't quite breakfast and it wasn't quite dinner, so referred to it as Brinner.  (And if you make it at Christmas, it is called Yule Brinner - oh my sides)

Oh, and I was so engrossed in making this, then eating it, I completely forgot to take any pictures of it, so here is a photo of me standing in front of an Avro York at the Duxford Air Museum (I heartily recommend it - I had a brilliant time...)

Dan Air?  Oh, wait, I see what you did there...

Ingredients
500g Haricot Beans
400g Meat*
400g Tinned Tomatoes
50g Brown Sugar
2tbsp Black Treacle
2tsp Mustard
2 Onions
Black Pepper

Method
Fry the meat in a large pan.  I used a mixture of cubed bacon, smoked sausage and black pudding, but you could also use belly pork or ham.  Then finely chop the onion and add that to the pan, cooking for a bit longer until the onion is soft but not browned.

Add the rest of the ingredients then bring to a simmer.  Transfer to either a slow cooker or a pre-heated oven (140ºc) and cook for about 4 hours.  Then test and season, and serve with crusty bread.  The beans also keep well, and travelled down to Cambridge in trusty tupperware before being re-heated.  Enjoy!