Baked Beans

Serves: 4-6

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 2 hours

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Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp duck, or goose fat
• 140g smoked streaky bacon, chopped
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 7 large cloves of garlic, chopped
• 6 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 50g muscovado sugar, or dark sugar
• 700g coco beans, soaked in water 3 times their volume overnight (or haricot beans as an alternative)
• 400g tinned tomatoes, chopped
• 2 large cooked turkey legs
• 10ml TABASCO® Sauce (or more if you prefer it spicier)
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Sage Fried Breadcrumbs

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 large sage leaves, left whole
• 1 large handful of panko breadcrumbs
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
  

Method:

1. Heat the duck fat in a large pan and fry the bacon on a medium heat until it starts to colour.
2. Add the onion, carrot and celery and sweat down until they begin to soften and colour a little. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf, paprika, tomato paste and sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Drain the coco beans and add to the pan with the tinned tomatoes.  Top up with water until the mixture is covered. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, and then turn down to a simmer.
4. Cover with a lid and cook through for approximately 1.5 hours until the beans are soft and creamy in texture and the sauce has thickened.
5. While the beans are cooking pull the turkey meat from the bone and set aside. 
6. For the sage fried breadcrumbs, heat the butter in a small pan and add the whole sage leaves. Once the butter is foaming and the sage fully infused, remove the leaves and add the breadcrumbs. Stir until golden brown and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and transfer onto a paper towel to drain and cool.
7. Once the beans have cooked, stir in the turkey and heat through fully. Season with the TABASCO^® Sauce, salt and pepper, and serve into bowls. Sprinkle with the sage fried breadcrumbs to finish. 

TIP! Do not add salt at the start, otherwise the beans will take forever to cook!