The Sunday Mail
Robin Chaibva
THERE is something special about sugar beans — they remind me of boarding school but now, unlike back in the day, I get to make it into a delicacy.
However, l have to confess that my beans recipe was by mistake after realising that I was using mostly chilli ingredients. I had to balance the flavours to avoid over spiced beans. You can boil and freeze the beans to cook later.
Ingredients
500g packet of sugar beans (washed, boiled and frozen pre-packed);
One medium onion, thinly sliced;
250g/handful of cherry tomatoes, washed and cut in half;
One tablespoon of hot chutney;
Two tablespoons of hot Worcestershire sauce;
Half-a-teaspoon of orange marmalade;
Half-a-teaspoon of spicy chilli jam;
One teaspoon of balsamic vinegar;
Salt to taste;
One tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil;
One tablespoon of vegetable stock.
Method
In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the onions till they are golden brown and start oozing out their flavour.
Add the cherry tomatoes in the pan until they soften and create a tomato onion mixture.
Place the frozen beans in the sauce pan, add the salt, Worcestershire sauce, chutney and about three tablespoons of water to steam the beans over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
Making sure that the beans do not stick at the bottom of the pot, stir gently with a wooden spoon until the beans and sauce are mixed to a rich sauce.
Add the chilli jam and then taste the sauce.
If the sauce has a sharp chilli taste, add the balsamic vinegar to balance the spices and the orange marmalade to give a subtle sweet balance to the beans.
Simmer for five minutes on low heat and then add the vegetable stock and half a cup of water to simmer for a further five minutes.
Serve with starch and relish . . . and save some for breakfast too!
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