Chorizo Baked Beans

I used to love Saturday mornings.  It was a chance to recharge the batteries and catch up on much needed sleep during the week.  Sadly, Saturday mornings are no longer mine due to the hopeful search for a new nest and so I've had to become a morning owl.  So, Saturday mornings are no longer my favourite morning of the week anymore, well for now anyway.  As Borat would say ... "Theese one .....  not so much!".

Running around, demands serious fuel and home made baked beans are the way to go.  Not only do they taste a gazillion times better than your average tin, but you can control whatever you put in and also the low GI rating means that you're well prepared for the day ahead.

Home made baked beans are really just cooked tomatoes with a tin of canellini or butter beans added. The addition of sugar and vinegar is optional but gives the dish a slight sweet and sour note which adds to the depth of flavour and makes you want to go back for more and more.  A traditional tin of baked beans has ketchup or Barbecue sauce added so if thats all you have, a squeeze of that in the mix will be fine too.

If you're anything like me and don't always have a well stocked fridge on a Saturday morning, use what you have.  Bacon, Speck, Pancetta or even sliced ham will work and for that hit of smokiness add a shake of Spanish paprika.

Finally, if you can be bothered chopping all the veg, feel free to use a mini food processor to blitz it all up.  Add the onion, celery, garlic, thyme leaves and chilli pulse a few times until chopped. I would definitely dice the chorizo by hand though.

Homemade Chorizo Baked Beans

Ingredients

1/2 small onion - chopped

1 stick celery - chopped

1/2 chorizo - diced (add more if you want, or none if your a vego)

1 large clove of garlic - chopped

1/2 red chilli - deseeded and chopped

Thyme sprigs

1 tin of Italian cherry tomatoes (or chopped tomatoes)

1 tin of Canellini or butter beans

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp of vinegar (white balsamic works best)

1/2 cup of stock (I used 1/2 a Knorr jellied beef stock pot)

Muffins or sourdough

Poached eggs

Shavings of Manchego, parmesan or even cheddar

Herbs to garnish - Chives or parsley

To make

1) In a pre heated saute pan (or any heavy based pan) on med/low heat, add a splash of olive oil and gently fry the onion and celery for a few minutes until soft. Your pan should be heated before you add the oil.

2) Add the chorizo and gently fry until the red porky goodness begins to leach from the chorizo dice.

3) Add the aromats - garlic, chilli and thyme stalks and continue the gentle fry for another minute.

4) Turn the heat to medium.

• If you're using liquid beef stock, deglaze the pan and reduce stock by half.  Then add the chopped tomatoes and bring to a simmer
• Otherwise, add the tin of chopped tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Once at a simmer, add the jelly stock pot and stir in until uniformly incorporated.

5) Add the sugar and vinegar to the pan, stir in and reduce by one third.  The sauce should now be thickened.  

6) Turn the heat down to Medium Low and add the tin of rinsed beans.  Bring back up to a simmer and turn the heat to low and half cover the pan whilst you ready the eggs, toast and coffee/tea/OJ.

7) Once all is ready, plate up and serve!  For that extra hit of deliciousness, add a couple of drops of white truffle oil to the egg. hmmm ....  

Obviously this is a home meal but if you've got guests around or want to make it look more cafe style  plate it up in a rice bowl, ramekin or mini pot, you get the idea.

Anyone looking to perfect their poached egg technique, I recommend the whirlpool method using fresh eggs.  I first read about this method via Gordon Ramsay salad recipe (I think?) but Felicity Cloake, the Guardian food writer has written an eggcellent article on it .... (sorry couldn't resist the pun)...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/sep/16/how-make-perfect-poached-egg

Alternatively, another method I've tried with good success is the one by Heston Blumenthal which you can read about here.

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/heston-blumenthal/poached-eggs-recipe