Homemade Baked Beans With Potato Cakes
Like every child, I loved tinned baked beans when growing up. They were a real treat and I’ve never lost the taste for them. Nowadays I like to make my own to get a better balance of sweetness and acidity to suit adult tastes and to add some spice to work against the natural blandness of the beans.
Servings
4people
Servings
4people
Ingredients
FOR THE POTATO CAKES
Instructions
  1. Place an ovenproof saucepan or casserole dish over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. Once hot, add the pancetta, a little pepper and the chilli and fry until cooked through but not crisping. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then add the onion and cook over a low heat until completely tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in half the sugar, then add the vinegar. Boil for 1 minute, then add Worcestershire sauce to taste.
  2. Stir in the passata and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining sugar and a couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 4–5 minutes. Add the beans and cook for a further 5–10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened and the beans are really soft and tender.
  3. Meanwhile, make the potato cakes. Mash the boiled potatoes until smooth (or use a potato ricer), add the butter and mix well. Add 4 tablespoons of the flour along with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir well. The aim is to form a dough, so add a little more flour if necessary.
  4. Using your hands, roll pieces of the dough into balls just larger than a golf ball. Place them on a lightly floured work surface and flatten them into little cakes about 1cm thick. Chill for 20 minutes.
  5. Place a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat and add a dash of olive oil. When hot, fry the potato cakes on either side (in batches if necessary) until golden and crisping slightly. While cooking, season with a pinch of salt and add a small knob of butter to the pan. Drain the cakes on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.
  6. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the beans as necessary, adding a little more vinegar and/or Worcestershire sauce, as well as salt and pepper. Serve alongside the warm potato cakes.
HOW TO FRY POTATOES WITH BUTTER
  1. Butter gives a lovely rich finish to fried potato, but it burns more easily than oil. For best results, start with oil and then add butter towards the end of your cooking time, using a spoon to baste the potatoes as the butter froths up.