Beans, Beans. They’re Good…
We all know the rhyme. Even my kids refuse to take them for lunch at school and I don’t blame them. It’s because of the curse that I refused to go near them throughout my entire teenage years.
Quite possibly just a myth, we all got over it with this latest batch. I’ve tried the classic Boston version and never one to be too much into the tomatoey version, I’ve always been partial to the sweet Canadian maple variety.
However, I’m getting BPA picky and costofevenacanofbeans choosy, so I ventured out for another home try.
At literally pennies for a cup of beans, dried are so the way to go for so many reasons. Cheap yes, but they really aren’t as intimidating as one would think. After simply soaking them in water, in the same pot I would later cook them in, they were tender and ready to go into the crockpot in about the same time as it took me to prep and get everything else together!
GREAT WHITE NORTHERN BEANS
3 Cups Great Northern Beans, soaked overnight
1 1/2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Small Onion, finely diced (about 1/2 Cup)
1 Apple, peeled and finely diced (about 1 Cup)
1 Cup Ketchup
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 – 3 Cups Water, reserved from the beans
Once the beans have soaked overnight, make sure they still have about 3 inches of water covering them and bring them to a boil in a large stockpot for about 55 minutes or until just tender.
Meanwhile heat the crockpot to high. Add the oil diced onion and apple. Cover and let it begin to cook and soften.
Measure off the ketchup in a large, pourable measuring cup.
Add the mustard, salt, brown sugar and vinegar, stirring to combine.
Once the beans are soft, drain, reserving the liquid.
Add the beans to the crockpot along with the onion and apple.
Pour over the prepared ingredients and the maple syrup.
Add 2 1/2 cups of the reserved bean water and stir to combine well.
Cook on high heat setting for about 5 hours or low for 8 hours until beans are quite soft and very flavourful.
Add more liquid as necessary and adjust salt to taste.
Comments
Mmmm….I love beans! Thanks for the recipe–Can’t wait to try it!
Great to see you posting again
Courtney
Ditto!
Thank you for the recipe! White beans are one of my favorite varieties.
That recipe looks so good! I could easily live on just beans.
I was just looking at the white beans in my cupboard today and wondering what to do with them. I thought crockpot, but had yet to decide what to make. Now I know. The beans have begun to soak for tomorrow’s dinner. Thanks.
Super! I’d love to know how you enjoy them!
Beans ARE good! We eat them every day. They can cause that problem you mention, more or less depending on the bacteria that inhabit your digestive system. One way to minimize it is to soak the beans and dump the soaking water, then cook them in new water. That’s because some of the indigestible sugars that cause the gas (because gut bacteria digest them and gas is a byproduct) leach out into the soaking water. Your recipe looks yummy!