Recipe: Pork and Beans

Recipe: Pork and Beans

This is not a difficult recipe. It isn't expensive and is easily adaptable. I am primarily writing this down because my hubby are going away and my daughter is being kept an eye on by her Uncle for a few days. She asked for this recipe to cook while we are away.

Pork sausage chopped small (a little good sauage is better than lots of cheap wet sausage)
Beans 3 tins drained but not washed
Sicks of celery 2-3
Bell peppers (3 cups full or 4 peppers) chopped and de-seeded
Garlic cloves 4-6 (size dependant) minced/crushed
Onion chopped finely (or 2 shallots)
Tomato puree 1 heaped tablespoon
Stock cube 1 (I prefer chicken for this but you can use pork or vegetable)
Soy sauce 1-2 tablespoons
Vinegar (balsamic or beet vinegar) 1 tablespoon
Tony's Creole seasoning 1 tsp
Brittany's Cajun seasoning 2-3 tsp
Smoked Paprika 1 tablespoon.
A little water.

In a large pan on a medium heat cook your chopped sausage. You can use a mix but a firmer sausage will release it's oils (like Kabanos or Chorizo) when you have coloured the sausage and released some of the oils remove from pan and set aside.

Sweat your onion, bellpeppers and celery for 10 minutes (longer if using frozen peppers) until the onion starts to become pale and glassy. Then add the garlic (adding it too early can make it burn and taste bitter) and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes.

Add Brittany's seasoning and stir well.

Add the Tony's and smoked paprika and add the beans. If one of the cans has a lot of bean "gunk" in it, add the tomato puree to that empty can and add a little water to it. Stir the can and add the bean and tomato stuff to the pot. This gunk is almost pure bean starch and will thicken the mix.

Stir the pot well and add the pork back into the mix. If it is a little dry add more water.

Add the stock cube, soy sauce and vinegar.

Turn the heat right down and cook on a low heat stirring occasionally. It should take at least an hour but better more like 2-3. If it is too wet leave the lid off, too dry add more water. Taste for seasoning and add some salt or pepper to taste.

Serve with crusty bread, cornbread, rice or extra bacon or left over pork (like chops).