High in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals and low in sodium and fat, dried beans can be magically transformed from a handful of pebbles to a pot full of low-cost, high-flavor food.
Beans can be boiled, steamed, slow-cooked and even barbecued, but baking seems to rate very high among cooks. Baking brings out the sweetness and the tenderness in beans while helping them to retain their shape and texture. Here's a look at traditional and not-so-traditional baked beans to add health and fun to meals.
Any Time of the Day
Baked beans can be a side dish or a meal in on its own. Baked beans can join you at the breakfast table, served in the English style on toast or added to scrambled eggs or tofu. Baked beans can be one of the ingredients in a breakfast burrito.
What's in a Name?
New England Baked Beans are traditionally made with small white beans. Expand your baked bean horizon and have some fun selecting from the multitude of bakeable beans Appaloosa (black and white striped), cranberry or Christmas beans (green and red striped), Calypso (bright red), Tongues of Fire (brilliant crimson), yellow split peas, baby limas (very small, very white), Great Northern (very white, very mealy) Lablab or Hyacinth (crimson, black or brown) or Caviar Lentils (black lentils) are among the favorites. Mung beans can come in beige, brown, red and black. In addition to black, lentils can be found in white, yellow, gray, green, orange and red.
Nearly Perfect
Baked beans are a nearly perfect dish, as they are creamy and saucy in texture and can have flavors ranging from nutty to smoky. The star ingredient in baked beans is a great source of nutrition. Beans have no saturated fat and very little unsaturated fat (except for soy beans, which are relatively high in unsaturated fat). Beans are digested slowly, so they are good for long-lasting energy and for people trying to reduce their food intake, as a feeling of fullness after a bean meal lasts several hours. Depending on the bean type you choose, beans can contain Vitamin A, iron, calcium, some B vitamins, zinc and potassium. The fiber content in beans is tenderized during baking but still adds health to the dish.
Before You Bake
To soak or not to soak is an age-old debate among bean cookers. Soaking was purported to cut down on cooking time and to cut down on the less socially acceptable aspects of bean consumption. Soaking cuts down only about 15 minutes of cooking time. Slow cooking may break down some bean fiber, decreasing the chance of social unacceptability. All dried beans should be rinsed well before cooking. Soaking is a matter of choice.
Many Different Forms
Baked beans can be made equally well with dried, canned, frozen or fresh beans. You'll have to steam or boil and drain dried beans before baking them. Canned beans can be used as is or can be drained and rinsed to remove some of the surface salt. Fresh or frozen beans may need to be briefly cooked before baking to plump them up.
You should select the bean form that fits in most easily with your lifestyle. If you have lots of time, used dried beans. Fresh, frozen or canned beans can be baked quickly for a fast and satisfying dish.
Basic Baking
To bake beans, you need cooked, drained beans and a sauce of liquid to bake them in. The sauce is used to moisten and flavor the beans. Decide on which role your baked beans will play, entrée, casserole, side dish or dessert, and then you can decide on the ingredients.
A rule of thumb for baking beans is to start with 3/4 cup of sauce for every 1 1/4 cups of cooked beans. The beans will absorb a lot of the liquid and it will help to soften the fiber. If you would like your beans to taste strongly of a certain flavor, add it at the beginning of cooking. If you'd like just a hint of a flavor, add it during the last 10 minutes of cooking. For example, if you would like to have an oniony bean casserole, finely chop onions and mix them with the beans before putting them in the oven. If you'd like just a whisper of onions, sprinkle them lightly over the beans 10 minutes before removing from the oven.
Baked beans benefit from slow baking. Try to bake them between 300 to 325 degrees F over a long period of time, from two to six hours, depending on the amount. If you bake beans quickly, you may wind up with tough, dry beans.
Mix and Match
You can select one type of bean and vary the sauces or vary both the beans and the sauces. If you use about 3 cups of cooked beans, you can add about 2 1/4 cups of sauce. It's always a good idea to bake beans in a nonreactive dish so no off flavors develop.
If you like one type of sauce, then vary your beans for a different flavor. Tomato-based sauces work well with white, pinto and cranberry beans, black-eyed peas and green and gray lentils. Garlic- and lemon-based sauces work well with kidney, appaloosa, garbanzo (chick peas), red and lima beans, as well as split peas and yellow and orange lentils.
Baked Bean Sauces
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