500 g Haricot beans (1 lb); soaked overnight
500 g Salt pork or unsmoked bacon
- in the piece (1 lb)
4 cl Garlic; finely chopped
6 tb Tomato passata
3 tb Maple syrup
3 tb Molasses
3 tb Dry English mustard
3 tb Cider vinegar
2 Bay leaves
Salt and pepper
6 Cloves
2 Onions; quartered
3 tb Fresh flat-leaf parsley;
- roughly chopped
Drain and rinse the beans and put them in a large, heavy-bottomed
casserole. Add enough water to cover them by about 5 cm (2") and
bring to a boil. Boil hard for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down
to a simmer, cover and cook for about an hour, or until the beans
are tender but not completely soft. Check the water to ensure the
beans don't boil dry.
Preheat the oven to 140 C/275 F.
Cut the pork or bacon into 5 cm (2") cubes and add it to the beans
along with the garlic, passata, maple syrup, molasses, mustard,
vinegar, bay leaves, and pepper (don't add salt yet as you need to
see how salty the beans become being cooked with the salt pork or
bacon). Stick the cloves into the quartered onions and add them too.
Add more water if you need to, so that the beans are covered.
Replace the lid, put the casserole in a preheated oven, and back for 2
hours. Remove the lid, stir, and put the casserole back in the oven
for another hour to brown and thicken. Do check during this last hour
to make sure the beans aren't becoming tooo dry. Taste for seasoning
and stir in the parsley.
