Baked Beans & Beets de Provence
Check out my video demonstration of these recipes!
Baked Beans
Spice Profile Baked Beans: yellow mustard, black pepper, smoked paprika
This is my take on New England style baked beans with maple syrup and molasses. I’m using Maine Yellow Eye Beans from my friends Baer’s Best Beans in South Berwick, Maine. Give yourself plenty of time to make this, it’s easy to prepare but takes a while to cook!
Rinse 2 cups of dried Maine Yellow Eye Beans and sort through to remove any rocks. Add to a heavy bottomed pot or medium sized Dutch oven & fill with water 1.5 inches above the beans, (optional, add a bay leaf). Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until beans are tender, but not mushy, 1.5-ish hour. Add more hot water as needed to keep the beans covered throughout cooking.
When beans are ready, remove bay leaf, drain and reserve the liquid. Rinse beans with cold water to stop the cooking process. In the bean pot, sauté one small chopped onion in olive oil. When translucent add 1-2 cups canned tomatoes, 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar, 1 TBSP molasses, 1/2 cup maple syrup, the spice packet (2 tsp Stock+Spice New England Baked Bean Seasoning), and the beans. Mix well and add more water or bean broth to make it a little soupy. Then bake covered at 325 for 5 hours. Check occasionally to stir and to add more hot reserved bean water, (or plain hot water), if the beans begin to get too thick.
Beets de Provence
Spice profile Beets De Provence: black lime, culinary lavender, fennel, marjoram, orange zest, parsley, rosemary, savory, thyme
For the beets, take 3-4 medium beets, (I used six small), and shred them either by hand with a box grater, or in a food processor. If doing by hand I leave the top stub as something to hold onto, but remove if using a processor. Place shredded beets in a bowl, and add the spice packet, (2tsp Stock+Spice Beets de Provence), the juice of one squeezed lime, about 2 Tbs olive oil, and salt. Mix well, taste, adjust oil, salt, lime as needed.
Enjoy!
