My Famous Vegetarian Baked Beans
By: Rachael Traub
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 10:00am

Ingredients




6 cups dry navy beans
6 cups dry cannellini beans
3 thyme springs
1/2 cup olive oil
6 cups onion, chopped
3 cups carrot, diced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
4 teaspoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons toasted cumin seed
4 each seeded, minced jalepeños
1 1/2 cups molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 beers
6 teaspoons dry mustard
6 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 cinnamon sticks
6 bay leaves
zest from 3 oranges
1 cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons salt

Preparation

1 Soak beans separately overnight in plenty of water with thyme sprigs and 4 whole garlic cloves 2 Drain, place in separate pots, cover with fresh water 3 Cook 1 ½ hours, or until tender. 4 Drain, reserving some cooking liquid. 5 Remove thyme sprigs 6 Heat rondeau with olive oil, add carrot and onion. 7 Sauté over medium heat until onion is translucent. 8 Add ginger, garlic, cumin seed and jalepeno 9 Continue cooking 2-3 minutes 10 Add to pot: molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, beer, mustard, Worcestershire, cinnamon and orange zest 11 Add cooked beans and bring to a simmer on stove top. 12 Cover and put in a 250° oven for 2 hours 13 After 2 hours add cider vinegar and salt 14 If needed add some of the reserved cooking liquid from the beans. 15 Cook 2-2 ½ more hours, adjust seasoning.

About


Each summer, I make (at least one) big ole batch of these beans. And I mean BIG; this recipe makes almost 2 gallons of beans, enough to serve 60 people! I have been tweaking this recipe for years. What you have here is the end result – full flavored beans without the fat and cholesterol – a great addition to your next BBQ!