MEXICAN
MEXICAN BAKED BEANS
- Timescale Weekend Project
- Serves 4-6
- Difficulty Simple
It’s hard to beat the nostalgic comfort of baked beans on toast, and although part of the appeal is the speed and ease of cooking them straight out of the can, making them from scratch takes them to a completely different level and trust me – it’s more than worth the extra time. Here we’ve added a little Mexican heat to this familiar favourite.


Ingredients
150g Red Kidney Beans, dried
150g Black Beans, dried
150g Pinto Beans, dried
1 Large Onion, finely diced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Cascabel Chilli, rehydrated and finely diced
1 x 400g Tin of Plum Tomatoes in their Juice
50g Double Concentrate Tomato Puree
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
100ml Red wine Vinegar
1 Large Lime
1 large Bunch of Coriander, finely chopped
1 Generous Pinch of Salt and Pepper
TO COOK
Ground Nut Oil
TO SERVE
Grated Smoked Cheese
Sour Cream
METHOD
1. Place the beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water and leave to soak overnight.
2. Having soaked overnight, drain the beans and place in a large pan. Cover with water and bring to the boil before reducing the heat to a low simmer. Allow the beans to simmer for about an hour or until tender. Drain the beans and set aside.
3. Place a large, deep pan over a medium heat with a lug of oil and add in the onion, fry the onion for 3 minutes until starting to colour and then add in the minced garlic and Cascabel chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the onions from burning.
4. Add the ground spices to the onions and cook off for about a minute before stirring in the tomato concentrate, tinned tomatoes, vinegar and 500ml water, giving the mixture a good stir, breaking up the tomatoes as you do. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and add in the beans. Allow to gently blip away for an hour until the sauce has thickened, the beans are soft and the tomatoes have completely broken down. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime, and stir in the chopped Coriander. Season to taste.
5. Serve the beans piping hot with toasted cornbread and lashings of sour cream and smoked cheese.
Comment