Vegan Baked Beans

Ingredients

• 30 g dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 180 g cup tomato puree
• 60 ml bourbon
• 60 ml vegan molasses
• 2 tablespoons packed vegan light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 450 g dried navy beans, picked through
• 1900 ml low-sodium vegetable broth

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.

2. 2

   Place the dried mushrooms in a medium bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water, make sure each mushroom is submerged. Let steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, reserving the liquid. Roughly chop the steeped mushrooms and set aside.

3. 3

   Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers and chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. 4

   Add the tomato puree, bourbon, molasses, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, bring to a simmer and cook to combine, about 3 minutes. Add the beans, vegetable broth and reserved mushroom liquid. Raise the heat to high, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Cover the pot, transfer to the oven and bake until the beans are tender, about 3 hours.

5. 5

   Uncover and increase the oven temperature to 180 degrees C. Bake until the sauce thickens and the beans on top begin to brown, about 30 minutes.

6. 6

   Cook’s Note

7. 7

   If at any point you notice too much liquid has evaporated from the beans during baking and you prefer them saucier, stir in water until the desired consistency is reached.