Beans in Tomato Sauce

Delicious homemade beans in tomato sauce.

Recipe author

Servings:

Beans

300

Carrot

Onion

Tomato paste

Tomato juice

Salt

Garlic

Water

Vegetable oil

Ground black pepper

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 27 % 9 g

Fats 9 % 3 g

Carbohydrates 64 % 21 g

135 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Rinse the dried beans well to wash off any bits of husk, then soak them in water overnight — this softens them and cuts down the cooking time. Adding a little baking soda to the soaking water helps prevent bloating. Add garlic and a bay leaf to the beans, along with a splash of vegetable oil, which adds flavor and helps them cook faster. Simmer until tender.
Step 2:

While the beans cook, make the sauce. Finely chop the onion, grate the carrot on the coarse side of a grater, and sauté them in vegetable oil. Add the tomato paste (for color) and a little water, pour in the tomato juice, and season with salt and pepper. If the sauce tastes too tart, add a pinch of sugar. Simmer until done.
Step 3:

Remove the bay leaf and garlic from the cooked beans, then add the beans to the sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes. Let the dish cool slightly and it's ready to serve.

Homemade beans in tomato sauce are in a whole different league from the canned kind. It's a simple yet wholesome dish, great year-round, since everything it calls for — beans, onion, carrot, and tomato juice — is available in any season. Use whatever beans you like, dark or light; the variety affects both the flavor and the cooking time, which can run anywhere from one to three hours. That time pays off in the fresh, made-from-scratch taste. The method couldn't be simpler: soak the beans overnight (a pinch of baking soda in the water helps prevent bloating) and simmer them until tender — that's the longest part of the recipe. While they cook, make a sauce from onion, carrot, tomato paste, and tomato juice, then bring the just-cooked beans and the sauce together. Serve warm or cold, as a side or a main. They're especially good with smoked sausages, which lend a subtle smoky note, and pair well with potatoes — mashed or in chunks — and with meat dishes.