Baked Beans

It had never crossed my mind to recreate something that Mr. Heinz had already perfected but when I needed to use tinned baked beans for another recipe I decided now was the time to have a go. In my humble opinion the result was better than the real thing!

Ingredients
makes the equivalent of about 5 x 400g tins 
450g dried haricot beans
2 tbsp oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
400g tinned tomatoes, chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt


Method

Soak the haricot beans overnight for at least 12 hours. 

Drain and rinse thoroughly.  Then place in a large saucepan with enough water and bring to a boil. Keep skimming off the scum that rises to the top.  After ten minutes turn down the heat and simmer for a further 30 minutes. Test a bean, it should be just tender and not too soft. 

In the meantime, heat some oil in another large saucepan to a medium temperature and fry the garlic for some 30 seconds before adding the carrot and celery.  Turn the heat right down low and cook slowly for 15 - 20 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes. Turn up the heat and stir in well. Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat. Leave it to cool down a little before pouring into a blender and puree it until smooth. Return to the saucepan and bring back to a simmer.

In a small bowl mix the cornflour with a little water then add it into the tomato sauce.

Pour in a further 300ml of water.

Drain the cooked beans and add to the tomato sauce and simmer for a further 15 minutes.

Season to taste with salt/sugar to balance the flavour.