Mirthful Baked Beans

Spice Profile: yellow mustard, black pepper, smoked paprika

This is my take on New England style baked beans with maple syrup & molasses.  I’m using Maine Yellow Eye Beans from my friends Charley & Carol Baer in South Berwick, Maine.

Rinse 2 cups of dried Maine Yellow Eye Beans & 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 & simmer until beans are tender but not mushy, 1-ish hour. Add more hot water as needed to keep the beans covered throughout cooking.

Meanwhile, chop a medium onion & add ¼ of it to a small pan, sauté in olive oil. Add frozen tomatoes, (about ¾ lb) & 2-ish  TBSP of water. Continue to sauté , stirring more often at first then simmer allowing tomatoes to thaw & begin to break down into a sauce. Remove from heat & use an immersion blender or food processor to puree. Add 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar, 1 TBSP molasses, ½ cup maple syrup, the spice packet (2 tsp Stock+Spice New England Baked Bean Seasoning) & 1-ish TBSP salt.

When beans are ready, remove bay leaf, drain & reserve the liquid. Rinse beans with cold water to stop the cooking process. Sauté the rest of the onion in your bean pot until translucent, then add beans back, along with tomato mixture & enough of the reserved bean water to make it a bit soupy. Bake covered at 325 for 5 hours. Check occasionally to stir & to add more hot reserved bean water, (or plain hot water), if the beans begin to get too thick.

Enjoy!