Homemade baked beans

Serves 6

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed.
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 cans of 400g cannellini beans (or soak 300-400g overnight)
• 400g tin tomatoes
• handful of Italian parsley chopped
• light olive oil or coconut oil
• baby spinach leaves (as much as you like)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 2-3 chorizo sausages (optional)
• Worcestershire sauce
• 100ml-200ml vegetable or chicken stock
• cayenne pepper (to your liking)

1. Cook sausages if using. Once cooked, remove and slice thinly.
2. Add oil to pot and add chopped onions. Once onions are soften, add garlic and paprika until soft.
3. Add the balsamic vinegar (optional) and cook until it reduces. Then add the tomatoes and a few splashes Worcestershire sauce.
4. Drain your tinned beans or dried beans and add to the pan. I like to presoak canned beans for at least 20 mins in tap water before cooking with it. 
5. Add 100ml of stock (200ml for dried beans). If using dried beans, you will need to cook for longer with more stock. Aim to keep the sauce rich, not watery or dried up.
6. Cook for a few minutes to bring to a simmer.
7. Add sausage to beans, throw in parsley and stir through. Add cayenne pepper to taste if using and salt and pepper to taste. Add as much spinach leaves as you like and serve with wholegrain/sourdough toast once spinach leaves have wilted slightly - this only takes a minute.

Tip: I  cook this without the baby spinach the day before. The next morning, I heat it through on the stove before throwing as much baby spinach as we can eat that meal on top. That way any leftover baked beans can be reheated in the same pot with freshly wilted baby spinach the next time.