Boston Baked Beans

serves 4 as a main meal

Ingredients

8oz (250g) dried white haricot beans

1 pint (500mls) water

1 onion, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bayleaf

1 tsp English mustard

2 tbsp black treacle

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

3 tbsp tomato puree

6oz (175g) bacon bits

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1) Soak the haricot beans in water for 8 hours or overnight.  Drain.

2) Put the beans in the slow cooker and mix in the chopped onion and the bacon bits.  

3) Blend the mustard with a little of the water, followed by the black treacle, sugar, tomato puree, and chopped garlic.  Mix with the rest of the water, and pour over the bean mixture.  Season, and add the bayleaf.

4) Cook on low for around 8 hours.  For the last hour, remove the lid and thicken the sauce by allowing some of the liquid to evaporate.  If the mixture is too dry, add some more water.
5) Remove the bayleaf and serve hot, with crusty bread and a sprinkle of grated cheese, if desired.


Notes
This produces beans in quite a watery sauce - it is not thick like a tin of baked beans.  You might therefore want to serve the beans in a bowl.  To accompany it, I used home-made focaccia; or girdle (soda) scones would also work well.

Haricot beans used to be the most commonly available, if my wartime rationing book is anything to go by.  I actually had great difficulty finding them - the supermarkets didn't seem to stock them - but eventually tracked them down to an ethnic food store.  They were quite a bit cheaper than any of the others on sale, at only 78p for 500g.  

I haven't tried this, but it occurs to me that you could make this more of a main meal by omitting the bacon pieces, and instead burying a whole bacon joint in among the beans.  Then remove the joint at the end, carve it, and serve all together with a baked potato or oven chips.

Rice Pudding

serves 6

Ingredients

4oz (100g) pudding rice

2oz (50g) sugar

2 pints (1 litre) milk

pinch salt

1 oz (30g) butter (optional)

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

2oz (50g) sultanas or raisins (optional)

Method

Place the rice, sugar, milk, and salt in the slow cooker.  Cook on Low for around 3 hours, or until the pudding is thick and creamy.  (If there seems to be too much milk, cook uncovered for a while.  But beware: it thickens up considerably as it cools.)

If baking this in the oven, grease a casserole dish, and bake the mixture at 160C (140C fan oven) for 2-3 hours, until the skin is golden and the pudding creamy.


Notes
I love this pud - it is the best comfort food around, and I have been known to dine exclusively on this.  But if serving it as a dessert, it will make 6 hearty helpings quite comfortably.  For my own consumption, I like it very thick and not too sweet, and will often reduce the sugar here. 

You can make it simple, or jazz up the recipe with any or all of the optional ingredients.  Obviously, it is tastiest made with whole milk, but the starch in the rice makes even skimmed milk creamy.  It is lovely served hot with a dollop of jam on top.

The advantage of making it in the slow cooker is that it does not burn or form a skin.  If you let what remains cool, you can stir in some creme fraiche or natural yogurt and serve cold in a glass with some fruit coulis or even chocolate sauce.  This makes a surprisingly posh dessert!