Author Notes: Baked beans are almost a staple with barbecue and ham…and I often serve them with roast pork. I’ve had them with apple but have never made them and so I thought “why not try pears?” These are not real saucy and only slightly sweet and will be wonderful with our grilled pork chops tonight. – inpatskitchen —inpatskitchen
Food52 Review: This recipe showed me for the first time that fruit has a role to play in baked beans. Since baked beans usually combine sweet and savory, it’s a natural leap. I modified the recipe to suit my time frame, substituting canned canellini beans for the dried beans. I also omitted the bacon for my son, the vegetarian critic, although I was concerned that it might disrupt the recipe’s balance making it too sweet. It turned out sweetly savory and suited my sweet tooth too. – luvcookbooks —luvcookbooks
Serves: 4 to 6 as a side
Ingredients
-
1/2
pound dried northern white beans, soaked overnight in water to cover
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3
strips bacon
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1
cup diced onion
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2
medium Bartlett pears, peeled cored and diced about 3/4 inch
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1/2
cup packed light brown sugar
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1
teaspoon ground ginger
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1
teaspoon salt
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1/2
teaspoon dry mustard powder
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1/2
cup ketchup
Directions
- Drain the soaked beans and then simmer them in water for about 45 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the bean likker.
- Cook the bacon strips until crisp. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat. Crumble the bacon.
- In a nice size saute pan, cook the onions in the reserved bacon fat until soft. Add the pears, ginger, salt and mustard and saute another minute.
- Stir in the cooked beans, ketchup, brown sugar and 1/2 cup of the reserved bean likker.
- Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish and cover.
- Bake at 325F covered for 1 hour 15 minutes. Check if the casserole needs a little more liquid. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more.