Moving to the USA has been wonderful for so many reasons but there are a few comforts i really miss. One of them is BAKED BEANS!!! Now, the real deal are actually full of sugar and the low sugar version just don't taste as good, so I decided to make my own. Once I realised how super yummy and really easy they are to make I can't understand why anyone would eat them from a can! The secret of this recipe is to let the sauce reduce as much as possible before adding the beans, this way you get the sweetness that is just so morish.

You will need:

a tin of navy beans, pinto beans OR cannellini beans (they all work well)
a brown onion diced
mirin (I use this instead of sugar, it's a Japanese sweet wine vinegar)
Worcestershire Sauce
Smokey Paprika
Salt & Pepper
Tomato Paste
Tin of crushed tomatoes

gently saute the onions until golden in a pan, then add mirin and Worcestershire sauce (about a tablespoon of each, you can add more to taste later). Let that reduce with the onions. Then add the tin of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. if you don't have a tin of tomatoes, you can just use tomato paste and water and use most of the tube of paste. Again, leave that to bubble for at least 20 - 30 minutes until it reduces to a nice thick sauce.

Wash and drain the beans and add. leave to cook for about 10 minutes until the beans are cooked then taste. Add more seasoning until you get the flavour desired. serve with smokey paprika on top to get that nice smokey taste too.