Real Baked Beans with Ciabatta
Serves 4
Donal Skehan suggests a simplified version of this dish by just serving the beans and tomato sauce on thick slices of toast rubbed with a little garlic.
300 g chorizo sausage, chopped into chunks
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
125 ml chicken or vegetable stock
2 x 400 g tins cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf of ciabatta bread, torn into chunks
200 g grated mozzarella cheese
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
In a medium-sized frying pan, fry the chorizo until golden and set aside, retaining the rich oil. The chorizo will normally throw off enough oil in which to fry the onion, but if not, just add a drop of olive oil. Cook the onions over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced. Stir through the cannellini beans and the cooked chorizo. Season to taste.
Place the torn ciabatta bread in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the beans, chorizo and sauce over the ciabatta and combine so that all the bread is evenly coated. Sprinkle over the grated mozzarella. Try to leave little peaks of the bread sticking out, as this will allow parts of the dish to become nice and crispy.
Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese has turned golden brown.
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