Smokey Baked Beans

Serves 4

Megan May's Smokey baked beans Photo: Supplied/Tam West

Ingredients

• 800g cherry or truss tomatoes (or a flavourful tomato chopped into large pieces)
• 3 red or yellow capsicum deseeded and chopped into approx. 2x2cm pieces
• 1 red onion sliced into half then sliced into 8ths
• 6 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
• 1-2 tbsp organic cold-pressed olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 500g cooked butter beans (if using tinned this is the weight without the brine, its approx 2x tins)
• ½ - 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika (how much paprika depends on the quality, start with ½ teaspoon and add more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon organic molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• Optional - if you like things a little spicy opt for a hot smoked paprika or add a little bit of a smoked chilly like ancho or chipotle to your preference.

Method

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C Fan bake.
  
Use a large glass baking dish or alternatively line a baking tray with baking paper, place the tomatoes, capsicum, onion and garlic on the tray and drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Bake for 15-20 mins until they are brown and starting to caramelise add the remaining ingredients, turn down the heat to 190 degrees and cook for another 10 mins.

Remove from the heat and taste, add additional smoked paprika and salt as needed. If you find anything needs more cooking place everything in a medium-sized pot and cook on a low heat until ready.

Serve on toast or sourdough bread and top with fresh herbs like parsley or basil with a little fresh oregano.   

Note: This recipe relies on the quality of the produce you use so get the best produce you can, ideally from your own summer garden.  You may need to adjust the other ingredients accordingly.   If your tomatoes are not full of flavour you can add a tablespoon of tomato paste to create a deeper flavour and add a little extra molasses if they are not sweet.