Baked beans are a versatile dish with many regional variations, and can be made with any type of bean. Soak the beans overnight, cook until soft, and add ingredients like onion, garlic, hot peppers, and bacon or sausage for savory dishes, or brown sugar, molasses, and tomatoes for sweet dishes.
Baked beans are a classic dish with many regional variations, ranging from savory Brazilian feijoada to sweet Southern beans served on barbecues throughout the United States during the summer. They’re relatively easy to make, and many people like to dress up their beans with variations to make the flavor more interesting and appealing. Since beans are high in protein, baked beans can be an excellent source of nutrition, especially for vegetarians.
To make baked beans, you’ll first need some dried beans. Kidney beans are a common choice for cooked beans, but any type of bean can be used, including kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, and so on. Some cooks like to blend multiple bean varieties; if you choose to do this, be careful to select beans with similar cooking times or cook them separately to ensure they are cooked all the way through.
Once you’ve chosen your beans, measure out three cups and rinse them in a colander and scoop them out to remove any remaining vegetation or rocks that may have picked up with the beans by accident. Next, cover the beans in water and let them soak overnight. This will soften the beans, allowing them to cook faster. After they’ve soaked, bring the water to a boil, stir in the beans, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook the beans until soft and flaky, adding water as needed, while thinking about ingredients you might want to add to the beans.
For something like feijoada, saute an onion, several cloves of garlic, hot peppers, and two bell peppers in a large skillet, adding a tablespoon each of the dried cumin and coriander along with salt and pepper to taste. Add these ingredients to the beans when they’re almost done, along with a cup of orange juice and a half cup of sherry. Browned pieces of meat such as bacon or sausage are also traditional in feijoada.
For sweet beans like those common in much of the United States, cook the beans with one cup of brown sugar, one-quarter cup of molasses, one chopped onion, one tablespoon of mustard, salt, and two cups of tomatoes or ketchup. Precise ingredient measurements vary according to personal taste, and you can also add items like pineapple chunks, apple cider, corn, salsa, balsamic vinegar, and collard greens for variations on the basic recipe.
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