Our 4th of July celebratory dinner; Southern Style BBQ Pulled Pork and BBQ Chicken, Baked Beans, and Creamy Slaw - the dressing for the slaw was made with equal amounts honey and red wine vinegar mixed with just enough Greek yogurt to make it creamy.
I have always prided myself on 'my' baked beans, but started looking for a good recipe from scratch and couldn't find anything....Apparently everyone, including Bon Appetit Magazine uses canned beans as the base!
Many also call for cooking bacon first and then sauteing the onions and garlic, etc in the bacon grease. I did not want to add bacon since we're trying to eat a healthier diet.
By looking at different recipes I came up with this version...the idea of using the root beer came from an old July 2010 issue of Bon Appetit.
Root Beer Baked Beans
1 cups chopped onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tablespoon garlic infused olive oil
1/2 bag cannellini beans - white navy beans
1 cup root beer (preferably artisanal - found ours at the health food store)
1 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 Tablespoons strong-flavored (dark) molasses
3 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
Sea salt to taste - I added just a smidgen
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
I really didn't meassure the ingredients above; the amounts given are guestimates.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
I cooked the white beans on low setting in the Crockpot overnight following package directions. I did not add any seasonings to the beans at this stage.
In a pot with metal handles or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add onions to cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; stir about a minute. Add beans with barely any liquid, then add the root beer, vinegar, molasses, ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper; mix well and bring to boil. Transfer to oven; bake uncovered until liquid thickens, about 30 minutes.
It turned out the best I've made...ever! They were rich, glossy and thick and we didn't miss the taste of bacon at all.
YIELD: 4 servings
SOURCE: Sonia's Kitchen with the help of several other recipes.
To read what led to the above recipe for baked beans and the meal served with it, read the previous two posts!
