Baked beans with black pudding

I make baked beans all kinds of ways, but this one is a really rich, indulgent version. It's well worth trying to source the best quality black pudding you can.

• serves

  6

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  2 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1½ cups dried white kidney beans, soaked in cold water for 8 hours or overnight
• 3 bacon rashers, rind removed and roughly chopped
• 300 g (approx 1) black pudding, peeled and sliced (see Note)
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 onions, roughly chopped
• 250 g chopped tomato
• ½ cup molasses
• ½ orange, rind grated
• 2 bay leaves

Soaking time 8 hours

You will need to begin this recipe 1 day ahead.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Drain and rinse the white kidney beans.

In a large heavy-based saucepan, layer ingredients, starting with the bacon and black pudding on the base, then the garlic and onion, then tomato, followed by the beans, molasses, rind and bay leaves. 

Pour enough cold water to just cover the ingredients. Cover with the lid and place in the oven for 2–3 hours, or until beans are tender. Check every hour or so and add more water if the beans are looking dry. You’ll need to taste for salt and pepper, but that’s best done after cooking for an hour or more and adjusted at the end. Remember the pudding and bacon will release salt, and the sauce will thicken a bit as you go.

Note

• A good butcher or deli should have a quality black pudding. Some may melt into the sauce more than others, depending on how they’re made.

Also try Matthew Evans' big black pudding fry-up.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.