Heart Healthy Vegetarian Baked Beans
Sun-dried tomatoes and tomato puree give this healthy vegetarian dish a summery flavor. This is a great side dish or topping for a veggie burger.
Preparation Time15 min
Cooking Time2 hr
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried haricot or pinto beans, soaked for 6 hours in fresh water
- 1/2 head celery
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 6 cloves
- 4 ounces tomato puree
- 2 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1/2 ounce soft brown sugar
Instructions
- Bring the beans, which have been thoroughly soaked, to a boil in the water they were soaked in. Boil for 10 minutes, strain, discard the water and cover again with fresh water to the depth of half an inch above the surface of the beans.
- Finely chop the celery, peel the onion and stick the cloves into it and bury it and the chopped celery in the beans.
- Add the tomato puree, the sun-dried tomatoes and the soft brown sugar. At this stage you can also add a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Bring gently to the boil, cover the pot and either simmer on top of the stove or in a medium oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the beans are completely cooked and have absorbed all the liquid. (Check halfway through to make sure that the liquid isn't drying out too much. Conversely, if there is still a lot of liquid at the end of the cooking time, remove the lid and boil rapidly, stirring continuously until the sauce is thickened.)
- When the beans are completely cooked stir the mixture and remove the onion. You may remove the cloves, chop the onion and put that back if you choose - it's optional. Salt the dish at this point using about a teaspoon of salt and check for the balance of sweet and sour and adjust.
