Fancy Beans

I found this delicious recipe for beans in the current issue of donna hay magazine and immediately decided that we were having that for dinner. The original recipe was for 8 so I fiddled with the measurements a bit to get it to suit us,. I also fiddled with the spices a wee bit, toning it down ever so slightly so as to not shock my poor children into oblivion. With the obvious exception of Miss Fussy, we all LOVED this. It was warm, hearty, full of flavour and pleasingly spicy. That said, the little miss did eat up every little bit of pasta in the bowl so it can't have been too bad. You can ramp up (or down) the measurements to suit yourself, I've included the original recipe and added my measurements next to it.

Chorizo and Beans

from donna hay magazine, autumn 2010 (issue 50)

2 tablespooons olive oil (2 tablespoons)

2 chorizo, sliced (2)

2 red onions, sliced (1 )

4 cloves garlic, sliced (2 )

1 teaspoon chilli flakes (1/8 teaspoon ground chilli)

4 sprigs oregano (2 )

2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes (1 x 400g can)

1 tablespoon brown sugar (1/2 tablespoon)

3 x 400g cans white (cannellini) beans, rinsed and drained (2 x 400g cans)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (1/2 tablespoon)

crusty bread to serve

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the chorizo, onion and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden and tender. Add the chilli, paprika, oregano, tomato and sugar. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beans and balsamic vinegar and cook for 2 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

We nixed the bread and went with hot cooked pasta stirred through and grated parmesan cheese sprinkled over. Fantastic!