Ration Book Haricot Beans Boston Style
This is the Haricot Beans baked Boston style served with a slice of Wartime Loaf. We had this for our supper last night, I know it looks a bit dull, but it was actually really very tasty.
Here is the original recipe:Haricot Beans baked Boston Style
Soak a quart of small haricot beans overnight in cold water, then in the morning drain them, cover them with fresh cold water, let them heat through gradually, and cook until the skins will burst, which point of cooking can be easily be ascertained by taking out one of two beans and blowing on the, when their skins will crack if they are done enough. Be careful not to let the water actually boil during the cooking. Then drain the beans , keeping the water for soup. Blanch a piece of fat salt bacon weighing about three-quarters of a pound, and cut off a slice about a quarter of an inch think. Put his slice in the bottom of the pot in which you will cook the beans, put the beans on top and embed in them the remaining piece of bacon, scoring the rind an inch deep every half-inch across, and leaving this rind exposed above the beans. Now mix together there level teaspoons of salt, two level tablespoonfuls of sugar and anything from a tablespoonful to a tea-cupful of treacle, according to the sweetness of your tooth, and moisten this mixture with has a breakfastcupful of boiling water. Pour this mixture over the beans and if there is not enough water to cover them, add more billing water until there is. Cover the pot now, and bake in a slow oven from six to eight hours, taking off the lid for the last hour to brown and crisp the bacon rind. If the beans who sign of drying during the cooing, add more boiling water, and if you like lean bacon as well as fat, decrease the amount of salt. If liked a level teaspoonful of mustard can be added to the liquid when it is poured over the beans. In the New York style, the treacle is omitted, and the beans are cooked in a shallow instead of a deep pan.
At the bottom of this article you will find my updated version of the recipe which doesn’t take six to eight hours!
Menu for Wednesday
Breakfast
Porridge made with water and salt
Lunch
Left over Haricot Beans baked Boston style
Supper
Egg and Sausage Tart with Baked Potato and green vegetables
As I am using up left overs, the only rations that I will be using will be tea.
WW2 Rations 1940 for
three people
three people
Butter 150g (6oz) 75g Butter
Bacon or ham: 300g (12oz) bacon in the Haricot Bean dish
Margarine: 300g (12oz)
Cooking fat/lard: 300g (12oz) 200g lard 190g lard (tsp of veg oil)
Sugar: 675g (1lb 10oz) 650g (25g black treacle used)
Meat: 1350g (3lb)
Milk: 9 pints occasionally dropping to 8 pints 8 3/4 pints
Cheese: 150g (6oz) rising to 675g (1lb 10oz)?
Eggs: 3 fresh eggs per week 0 fresh eggs
Tea: 150g (6oz) 130g 110g 90g
Jam: 150g (6oz) per week 125g
Dried Eggs 3 packets
(36 eggs every four weeks) 9
eggs for one week
(36 eggs every four weeks) 9
eggs for one week
Sweets: 262g (3oz) per week.
I’ll be back with more Ration Book Cooking tomorrow.
WW2 British Ration Book Baked Beans
A simple but delicious dish of haricot beans cooked slowly with bacon and treacle.
Ingredients
- 500 g (2 cups) haricot beans dried
- 300 g (10 oz) bacon pieces
- 2 onion sliced
- 2 tbsp black treacle or molasses
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
With dried beans
- Start the night before you want to eat the beans
Stove top method
- Soak 500 g (2 cups) dried haricot beans overnight in cold water, drain, cover with fresh water and simmer for about an hour until they have started to soften.
Cook the beans in a pressure cooker
- It's much faster to cook the beans in a pressure cooker. Cook on High pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release drain and continue with the recipe.
Use canned cooked beans
- Use 2 x 400 g cans of cooked white beans such as haricot, cannelini, or navy beans. Empty the beans into a colander, drain and rinse the beans. Then continue with the recipe. Canned beans may not absorb as much flavour from the other ingredients as freshly cooked dried beans but it's certainly an quicker and easier option.
- Heat an ovenproof casserole to a medium heat and add the 300 g (10 oz) bacon pieces, cooking until browned.
- Turn down the heat and add the 2 chopped onions then cook gently until softened.
- Add the beans, 2 tbsp of treacle (molasses),1 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce and enough boiling water to cover.
- Cook at 140℃ Fan/150℃/300℉ for 1 ½ to 2 hours, checking occasionally to make sure there is still some liquid left. Top up if necessary.
To make in a Slow Cooker
- Place the browned bacon, sauteed onions, cooked beans, treacle, tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce into your slow cooker with 300 ml (½ pint) water. Cook on LOW for 4 hours.
- Season with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper before serving.
- Serve the beans with sausages or chops or serve them simply on toast.
Nutrition
Calories: 499kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 43gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 2888mgPotassium: 769mgFiber: 14gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 65IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 124mgIron: 4mg
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It's amazing to see what people ate during wartime and the rationing they had to do. My gran was around during that time. She was born the year 1919 and lived to be 93. She would tell me stories and tell us not to waste food.
I have been waiting for this recipe and post Janice as I love beans and these do look rather good, especially with bacon too. Day three is going well for me, as I am also on left overs too…….Karen