One Pot Beans with Belly Pork

One Pot Beans with Belly Pork recipe

As children, we were really rather spoilt with our meals at home. Our Mother is a great cook and would serve wonderful Saturday lunchtime feasts to stave off childhood hunger. My particular favourite was a mix of dried beans and belly pork. She’d soak the dried beans over night then slowly cook the dish on a Saturday morning. My One Pot Beans with Belly Pork is an homage to Mums recipe; I think I’ve nailed it, I just need to make if for her now to get the full seal of approval.

I searched high and low for a bag of dried mixed beans; they must have fallen out of fashion because none of our local supermarkets or health food shops stocked such an item. My beans and pork belly, therefore, features two tins of mixed beans;they’re convenient and don’t require soaking or hours of cooking, making this recipe much less time sensitive. The belly pork strips are cut into cubes and seasoned with smoked paprika and slow cooked with some tinned tomatoes, making this an absolute storecupboard winner of a recipe. The beans are then stirred in and given a final simmering to ensure the dish is rich and comforting.

I served my beans in large, piping hot bowlfuls covered in grated cheese. The cheese will lure my family into eating anything, but it turns out they loved it anyway, so the Saturday tradition of a hearty bowl of homemade beans continues for another generation.

Not only is this a one pot wonder, it has a suprisingly small number of ingredients too. The organic beans were on offer, you can use any of your favourite tinned beans and the pork was great value too. Frugal and tasty; your wallets and your stomachs are both being looked after here.

Start with a good sized casserole dish and two tablespoons of olive oil. Heat over a medium flame. Now, cut the pork into bite sized pieces and toss with the smoked paprika and salt and pepper so they’re well coated.

Add the pork to the hot pan, and working in batches so the meat browns and doesn’t steam in an overcrowded pan, cook the meat briefly until just browning. Remove from the pan to a plate while you finish cooking the rest of it.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, turn the heat down to low, and gently cook the chopped onion and garlic until just softening and turning golden.

Pour in your chosen stock, stir well to scrape all the flavourful bits from the bottom of the pan, then add the tinned tomatoes, a pinch of sugar and return the browned pork to the pot, along with any juices.

Put the lid on and gently simmer the meat for an hour. Remove the lid then tip in the drained beans, stir well, bring back up to the simmer, put the lid back on and cook for another 30 minutes to ensure maximum melding of flavours.

Remove the lid for a final 5 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly, then you’re ready to serve. This needs no more than a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley, but I overegged it with a bloody great big handful of cheese.

The porks soft, the beans are comforting, this is my kind of recipe. Easy, great value, tasty and not a leftover in sight, we devoured it.

Lucy x

One Pot Beans with Belly Pork recipe

Serves 4

You will just need one nice big pot with a lid for this

500g belly pork, mine were the strips

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 more for the onion

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 x 400g tin mixed beans, drained

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

200ml stock, mine was chicken

a pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper, to taste

Freshly chopped parsley to garnish, grated cheese, if you like, to serve

Take a large casserole dish and heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over a medium flame. Cut your belly pork into bite sized pieces and coat with the smoked paprika and salt and pepper, tossing well to combine.

Add the pork to the hot pan, in batches so you don’t over crowd it and brown on all sides. Remove to a plate and cook the rest of the pork. Turn the heat down to low and add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Tip in the chopped onions and garlic and cook for around 5 minutes until starting to soften and just colouring slightly. Pour in the stock and tinned tomatoes, with a pinch of sugar, stir well to get all the flavourful bits from the bottom of the pan, then return the pork, with any residual juices, to the pot. Stir well, turn down to low, put a lid on and simmer for an hour.

When the hour is up, drain both tins of mixed beans and add them to the pan. Stir well then put the lid back on for another 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes or so, to reduce the sauce a little. Taste to see if the dish needs any additional seasoning, then serve, piping hot, scattered with some fresh parsley and served with plenty of grated cheese.

Any leftovers will be amazing kept in the fridge and reheated over the next 2 to 3 days.