30 Jan baked beans

With January coming to a close tomorrow, we will find ourselves being propelled towards spring. After what felt like a long January, this will be welcomed by many. But before we move on, how about we pay tribute to the good things about winter eating? I love how winter invites us to indulge in comfort food.

We’re celebrating this with our baked beans recipe this week. If comfort food isn’t helping you survive the winter blues, colour might be what you need; a plate full of colour can be a cheerful contrast to grey skies outside.

Baked Beans for 4

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Enjoy this grown up version of baked beans, generously spiced with smoked paprika.

Ingredients

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 red chilli

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 x 400g tins of cannellini beans

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 heaped tablespoon of brown sugar

2 level tablespoons of smoked paprika

Method

1. Finely dice the onion and garlic cloves. Deseed and finely dice the red chilli.

2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli for 3 minutes.

3. Drain the beans into a colander and give them a rinse under cold water. This helps freshen them up after their stint in a tin.

4. Now add the beans, tomatoes, sugar and smoked paprika. Gently simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

5. Serve on slices of thick, buttered toast.

This recipe first appeared in The Irish Independent on January 29^th