Tuscan Baked Beans Recipe

June 1, 2015 By

This post is a recipe for Tuscan Baked Beans. Last weekend Brooke and I decided it was time try a new cafe for breakfast and ventured out to Hawthorn, where we had a delicious breakfast at Who’s Harry? If you are in the area I would highly recommend stopping by – even just for a coffee. The staff were very friendly and the menu offers more than enough options to please many. While Brooke couldn’t look past the corn fritters and halloumi on the menu, I opted for poached eggs and toast with a side of house made baked beans. The baked beans were delicious! Packed full of Mediterranean flavour, they were the perfect accompaniment for a chilly morning.

The only problem for Brooke, she had a little food envy and the next morning was on a mission to make some homemade beans for breakfast. Now this recipe is not traditional baked beans, but the flavour was great given how quick it was to make!

Simply cook up some brown onion, celery, and garlic together with a tin of whole tomatoes and some tomato paste. Crush the tomatoes slightly before adding in a few sprigs of fresh thyme and the beans. Simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes, trying not to stir too much as you don’t want to make the beans mushy. In the last minute throw in a handful of kale (or spinach) for a bit of colour. The kale will wilt within seconds.

Brooke plated her delicious Tuscan baked beans on some crusty Noisette sourdough with a few pieces of crispy prosciutto to top it off!

If you are looking for another savoury breakfast option then check out our savoury muffin recipe.

Tuscan Baked Beans RecipeTuscan Baked Beans RecipeTuscan Baked Beans RecipeTuscan Baked Beans Recipe

Healthy Tuscan Baked Beans – Recipe Instructions

Tuscan Baked Beans Recipe
 
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Delicious Tuscan baked beans served on crusty Noisette sourdough with crispy prosciutto to top it off!
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • ½ brown onion, finely diced
  • 1 celery stick, finely diced
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tin whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1 tin beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 cups Kale (shredded) or spinach
Instructions
  1. In a medium pot, sauté the onion, celery and garlic with a little olive oil for a couple of minutes till soft.
  2. Add tomato paste and tinned tomatoes, stirring and slightly crushing the tomatoes.
  3. Add in the thyme, leaving the springs whole.
  4. Add the beans, stir and leave to simmer for 10 minutes on a low heat. (Try not to stir the beans too much).
  5. Remove from the heat and gently stir through the kale.
  6. Serve with crusty bread or as a side.

 

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Pulled Pork Tacos

September 2, 2013 By

After Brooke’s recent purchase of a slow cooker, she was determined to make anything that meant she got to use it. With my subtle suggestion of pulled pork, it was a done deal and we were having pulled pork tacos for a late lunch!

There are many variations to pulled pork and we may have gone down a more southern style, but it still worked in taco’s given the various spices this recipe uses.

If you are willing to wait for the meat to cook, this recipe really is one of the easiest things to make – and with the slow cooker makes it even easier! We bought all the ingredients the night before so we could make the pork first thing in the morning. To start you need to make a simple spice rub, and a BBQ sauce (both require similar ingredients). Once you have made your spice rub, simply roll the meat in the rub and place it in the cooker with half the BBQ sauce. We wanted the pork ready in time for a late lunch, so cooked the pork on a higher temperature for a shorter time (still a solid 5 hours).

The beauty of the slow cooker is you can leave the meat to cook, while you can leave the house. While the pork cooked, we headed off to the markets for some fresh ingredients to top off our pulled pork tacos.

When we returned, the house was full of of delicious aromas and the meat was perfectly cooked. All that was left to do was simply pull the pork apart (which really just fell apart it was so tender), and dress with the remaining sauce.

We served our pork with tortillas, fresh avocado, tomato, onion, coriander and sour cream. This is definitely a recipe I will be wanting again! Yummo!

If your looking for other Mexican recipes to accompany the pulled pork tacos then check out our simple guacamole recipe or tomato salsa recipe.

Spice Rub and BBQ Sauce IngredientsPork Spice RubPork Spice Rub and BBQ SaucePulled Pork TacosPulled Pork Tacos

Pulled pork tacos – Recipe Instructions

5.0 from 3 reviews
Pulled Pork Tacos
 
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Pulled pork tacos with fresh avocado, tomato, onion, coriander and sour cream.
Author:
Recipe type: Pork
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 6
Ingredients
BBQ Sauce
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
  • ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
Spice Rub
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne
  • 1.5 Kgs boneless pork shoulder or loin, excess fat trimmed
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. For the BBQ sauce: Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, cayenne, red pepper flakes and salt and black pepper in a small bowl.
  2. For the spice rub: Combine the paprika, oregano, black pepper, brown sugar, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl and toss with your fingers to mix. Rub the spice mixture onto the pork on all sides.
  3. Place the pork in a slow cooker insert. Add ½ cup BBQ sauce and cover the slow cooker. Cook on high until the pork is fork-tender, 4 to 5 hours, or on low, 8 to 10 hours. Transfer the pork to a carving board. Let the pork stand, about 5 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile add 2 tablespoons of the simmering pork liquids to the remaining BBQ sauce. Bring the BBQ sauce to a simmer in a small saucepan over low heat, about 10 minutes.
  5. Using two forks, shred the pork and discard any excess fat. Heap the pork onto the buns and top with extra BBQ sauce.

 

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Creamy Chicken Linguine

August 19, 2013 By

On a relaxing weekend down south Brooke and I had some time to make ourselves a proper meal. After stopping in the small town of Kirrup, on our way to Bridgetown. We picked up some quality produce at a small grocer which sells all locally grown fruit and vegetables. With the ingredients we picked up, and a couple of other things we bought in town. We decided to make our own version of a classic creamy chicken linguine.

To enhance the flavours some more, Brooke roasted off the vine ripened tomatoes and capsicum. While the vegetables were in the oven, you need to also brown the chicken before adding to the pasta later as it seals in the juices and keeps the chicken moist. If we were making this dish during the week, we wouldn’t roast the veggies first. However, with the luxury of a little extra time we decided to oven roast the tomatoes and capsicum which definitely took the recipe to another level in terms of flavour.

Not only is this dish full of colour, there is something about a creamy pasta dish that is so comforting – it’s a perfect dish to have on a cold winters day. This creamy chicken linguine paired with a glass of Shiraz, was definitely a great way to finish off a relaxing day down south!

If you love your chicken like I do then try these recipes for chicken, bacon and leek pies or chicken pakora.

Fresh Ingredients for LinguineFresh baby Roma tomatoes and capsicumOven roasted baby Roma tomatoes and capsicumFresh SpinachCreamy Chicken Linguine in FrypanCreamy Chicken LinguineCreamy Chicken Pasta

Creamy chicken linguine – Recipe Instructions

5.0 from 2 reviews
Creamy Chicken Linguine
 
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Creamy Chicken Linguine made with fresh local ingredients including spinach, baby Roma tomatoes, capsicum and red onion.
Author:
Recipe type: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Capsicum
  • ½ Red onion, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 large boneless/skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips
  • Bunch of cherry tomatoes (approx 20 tomatoes)
  • Bunch of fresh spinach
  • 250 ml cream
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Handful of fresh basil leaves
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 200 grams linguini or pasta of choice, cooked al dente according to package directions
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
  2. Wash tomatoes,capsicum and spinach well.
  3. Cut the capsicum in half. Scatter the tomatoes and capsicum on a baking tray. Cook for approximately 15 minutes. Allow to cool before removing the skin off the capsicum and slice into long strips.
  4. Prepare the pasta according to package directions.
  5. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pan and sauté the onion until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
  6. Add the chicken and cook until it has a nice brown colour and is no longer pink.
  7. Add the cream, milk and garlic to the chicken and onions.
  8. Once the cream/milk is simmering, add the fresh spinach, capsicum strips and some of the roasted tomatoes.
  9. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Toss in the sauce to coat. Add the fresh basil leaves and toss to combine.
  10. Serve immediately, with the remaining tomatoes, some freshly ground black pepper and grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
The combination of cream and milk makes the pasta dish a little lighter, however this can be substituted with carnation milk also.

 

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