Pear and Bean Bake

By inpatskitchen • September 10, 2011 • 8 Comments

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Author Notes: Baked beans are almost a staple with barbecue and ham...and I often serve them with roast pork. I've had them with apple but have never made them and so I thought "why not try pears?" These are not real saucy and only slightly sweet and will be wonderful with our grilled pork chops tonight. - inpatskitchen - inpatskitchen

Food52 Review: This recipe showed me for the first time that fruit has a role to play in baked beans. Since baked beans usually combine sweet and savory, it's a natural leap. I modified the recipe to suit my time frame, substituting canned canellini beans for the dried beans. I also omitted the bacon for my son, the vegetarian critic, although I was concerned that it might disrupt the recipe's balance making it too sweet. It turned out sweetly savory and suited my sweet tooth too. - luvcookbooks - luvcookbooks

Serves 4 to 6 as a side

1/2 pound dried northern white beans, soaked overnight in water to cover
3 strips bacon
1 cup diced onion
2 medium Bartlett pears, peeled cored and diced about 3/4 inch
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/2 cup ketchup

Drain the soaked beans and then simmer them in water for about 45 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the bean likker.
Cook the bacon strips until crisp. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat. Crumble the bacon.
In a nice size saute pan, cook the onions in the reserved bacon fat until soft. Add the pears, ginger, salt and mustard and saute another minute.
Stir in the cooked beans, ketchup, brown sugar and 1/2 cup of the reserved bean likker.
Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish and cover.
Bake at 325F covered for 1 hour 15 minutes. Check if the casserole needs a little more liquid. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more.

This recipe is a Community Pick!
This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Dish with Meat as a Flavoring
This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Pears

Tags: easily expandable, pears, slightly sweet, white beans