9Honey's Every Day Kitchen cook-along: hearty homemade baked beans

I'm the first to say I love a good tin of baked beans. They're a healthy and easy meal. But what if I told you that those beans are just a pale imitation of the good old-fashioned original beans cooked down in a thick, rich, tomato sauce?

Well, here at 9Honey Every Day Kitchen we're all about ultimate family meals, and this is certainly one of them: a huge pot of homemade baked beans.

They're rich, hearty and filled with more flavour than anything you can find in a tin. They're also a complete meal on their own and can even be a bed for extra sausage pieces or crispy bacon, if you like. This version is meat-free, but trust me when I say it's not missing a thing.

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Baked beans are good, but with this recipe they get a whole lot better. It's also easy and packed with extra veggies. Perfect.

Hearty homemade baked beans recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 small red onions, diced
• ¼ fennel bulb, diced (reserve some of the fronds for garnish)
• 1 carrot, grated
• sherry or red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 2 x tins tomatoes (whole or diced)
• ½ teaspoon each of ground cumin, coriander seed, chilli flakes, smoked paprika (or any spices of your choice)
• 1 jar roasted peppers, in brine (in oil is fine too, we'll be using all the brine, or ½ the oil)
• 4 x tins of favourite beans (I used white beans)
• 1 tablespoon malt extract syrup/maple syrup/honey
• ½ cup shredded cheddar/tasty cheese

Method:

1. Cook onions, fennel and carrot down in a large oven proof pot with some olive oil until they are sweet and sticky. Add a splash of your vinegar and stir it through, then add tomato paste, garlic paste and spices and stir through.
2. Tip in tinned tomatoes and the whole jar of roast peppers including its brine — if your peppers are in oil, just add half the oil from the jar. Using a stick blender, puree until you have a lovely thick sauce.
3. Tip in all the drained beans and stir them through the sauce to warm them. Add your tablespoons of syrup and warm through.
4. Sprinkle the grated cheese all over the top, place the whole pot into a 180°C oven (uncovered) for 20-30 minutes, or until slightly reduced and the cheese is melted and browning. Serve straight from the pot, topped with reserved fennel fronds and bread of your choice.

And here are some things you can do with chickpeas... chickpea hacks