Italian Baked Beans (gluten free)

Pioneer Baked Beans was one of the most popular posts at my blog with time more then 6,000 hits.  Who'd a thought? Retro and comfort foods are supposed to continue to be big this year and as the weather gets colder here I for sure have been turning to home cooked soups, stews and casseroles.

Often I don't want the meat and the fat from the pork so I make a vegetarian version of baked beans. I have made these beans in the oven in a casserole baking dish, cast iron Dutch oven and also in a slow cooker. My instructions show slow cooker method followed by stove top and oven. The version below has cheese but it is easy to make VEGAN by skipping the cheese or topping with my recipe for quinoa polenta and toasted sunflower seeds.

Click this link for a printable recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup White pea or “Navy” beans - any dry bean - 250 ml
½ tsp Fennel seed - 2.5 ml
½ tsp Thyme - 2.5 ml
1 tsp Basil - 5 ml
1 Tbsp Hot chile pepper - 15 ml
1 cup Onion, diced - 250 ml
2 Garlic, cloves, minced 

24  Carrots, baby, medium 

28 fl oz Diced tomatoes, canned, with juice - 798 ml
5 fl oz Tomato paste, canned - 156 ml
1 cup Wine, white, dry - 250 ml
1 ¼ lb Polenta, tube, ready to serve (e.g., Aurora brand) - ½ kg
¼ cup Romano cheese, shredded - 60 ml
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, part skim, shredded  - 250 ml
¼ cup Parsley, fresh, minced - 60 ml
½ tsp Paprika, sweet, ground - 2.5 ml

SLOW COOKER METHOD:
1. Soak beans in plenty of cold water over-night - use three times their volume of water. You can do this in the crock of the slow cooker. Drain.
2. Add fennel, thyme, basil, a whole chili (optional), chopped onion and minced garlic to the beans. Add 2 liters (8 cups) cold water to cover. This amount of water is an estimate. You can add more later if it is needed.
3. Stir in whole baby carrots. I used some cubed rutabaga the second time I made this as I was out of carrots. Necessity is the mother of invention. Cover and cook on LOW 4 hours. The beans should be tender and most of the liquid absorbed. It looks a little monotone with the turnip but this gets corrected.



4. Stir in slivers of coloured peppers, canned diced tomatoes with liquid, tomato paste and white wine. Cover and cook an additional. 2 hours. Taste it and see if it needs salt, more herbs etc. The polenta and cheese topping will add some saltiness so go easy.



5. Slice polenta into rounds.



Arrange polenta rounds on top of the beans. Push them down into the beans a bit.



Then sprinkle on the grated Romano and mozzarella cheeses (optional). I sprinkled on some fresh parsley and paprika last for colour.



Cover and heat on low until bubbling and cheese is melted. I don't have a picture of the final product as my son and I were pretty hungry and had devoured a lot of it by the time I remembered I hadn't taken a picture.

STOVE TOP version:
1. Add dry beans to stockpot and cover with 3 times their volume of water. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let sit 1 hour.
2. Drain discarding liquid. Return soaked beans to pot along with 3 times their volume fresh water. Add fennel, thyme, basil, hot pepper, diced onion and minced garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 2 cups cooking liquid.
3. In oven proof casserole combine cooked beans, reserved liquid, baby (or chopped) carrots, slivers of yellow pepper, can of tomatoes with juice, tomato paste and white wine. Cover and bake at 350'F for 2 hours.
4. Top with sliced polenta rounds. Push them down into the beans a bit. Then sprinkle on the grated Romano and mozzarella cheeses (optional). I also sprinkled on some fresh parsley and paprika last for colour. Cover and bake another hour or so until bubbling and cheese is melted.

Nutrients (per 1/8th of recipe – about 350 g): 280 calories, 14 g protein, 5 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 37 g carbohydrate, 10 g fibre, 10 mg cholesterol, 640 mg sodium.  %DV (Daily Value) are 25% calcium and iron, 120% vitamin A and 130% Vitamin C. Darned good nutritionally and marvelous winter food!

Yours in good taste, © Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc.  http://nancyguppy.com/

Maple Baked Beans (Slow Cooker)

Baked beans are a classic comfort food especially in the north.  Here's my vegetarian version I lived on during university when I wanted a wholesome meal and money was tight.  Pretty easy and economical to whip up. In this vegetarian version you can also add any hard dense vegetables like carrots, parsnips, potatoes and/or squash.   I think they are best made in a slow oven but here is my slow cooker instructions.

		Ingredient
2 cups	500 ml	Beans, navy, raw
12 cups	3 litres	Water, cold
2 each		Bay leaves
1 cup	250 ml	Maple syrup
½ cup	125 ml	Ketchup
1 Tbsp	15 ml	Mustard seed, ground/powder
½ tsp	2.5 ml	Thyme, dried, leaves
½ tsp	2.5 ml	Salt (optional)
¼ tsp	1.25 ml	Black pepper, freshly ground
2 each		Onions, raw, large, cut in half, peeled
8 pieces		Cloves (spice), whole
2 Tbsp	30 ml	Apple cider vinegar, natural

* you can sub 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup dark molasses for the maple syrup with good results

1.  Rinse beans and add to crock of slow cooker with the bay leaves.  Cover with 3 times as much cold water (about 12 cups).  Cover and cook on LOW overnight - 6-8 hours.  The beans should be tender but not falling apart.  Alternately, you can boil them on the stove for an hour or so until tender but not splitting.  I am using black eye peas for this batch in place of the navy beans.  Necessity is the mother of invention .... what I had on hand.

2.  Remove 2 cups (500 ml) bean water from crock.  You may use this later if beans are dry.  Keep in fridge.  Discard it later if you don't use it.

3.  Stir maple syrup, ketchup, dry mustard powder, dry thyme, salt and pepper into beans.  If you don’t like sweet beans add less maple syrup.  Also, I don't usually add the salt as the ketchup is salty.  You can always adjust later.  

4.  Cut onions in half and peel.  Push two pieces of whole cloves into each of the four halves.  Add to bean pot.  Push down to cover with beans.

5.  Cover and cook on LOW heat 4 hours.  Then cook one hour with lid off to evaporate liquid.  How you want the beans is a matter of preference.  At any time if you want them saucier you can add some of the reserved bean liquid.

6. Remove onions to cool and discard cloves.  Dice and add back to the pot.  Stir in the cider vinegar (optional).

You can also bake them in a bean pot or 16-cup (4 L) casserole. Cover and bake in 300°F (150°C) oven for 2 hours. Uncover and bake until thickened and beans are coated, about 1 hour.

Dehydrated zucchini I added to my veg baked beans

Makes approximately 15 x ½ cup -125 ml servings 
Nutrients (per 1/2 cup - with the salt)

Calories	170
Protein (g)	7
Total Fat (g)	0.5
Saturated Fat (g)	0
Carbohydrate (g)	36
Fibre (g)	5
Cholesterol (mg)	0
Sodium (mg)	180
%Daily Value
Calcium	8
Iron	10
Vitamin A	2
Vitamin C	6