Warm up with MasterChef champion Thomas Frake's smoky baked beans recipe

Thomas Frake serves up some delicious inspiration with warm foods that will keep you warmer longer.

Bonfire Baked Beans
(Image credit: Wren's Kitchen)

That wintery weather has arrived and you know what means! Hearty meals that keep you feeling warm, longer. While wrapping ourselves in sweaters, blankets and raising the heat momentarily increase comforts, did you know that certain foods can raise your body temperature to help you feel warmer? 

In fact, meals featuring ingredients like liver, chili,  spinach, dried fruit, eggs, or bananas can help regulate or raise your body's temperature and improve circulation by increasing one's red blood cell count. 

MasterChef champion Thomas Frake partnered with Wren Kitchens to share a recipe that's great for brunch, lunch, and even dinner— and offers that prolonged warmth. 

Frake's Bonfire baked beans recipe is full of smoky, sweet, and spicy flavours that turn a staple dish into something delectable and heartwarming.  Amp up the recipe yourself by making homemade beans from scratch. 

The addition of smoked paprika and ancho chili flakes to the recipe adds a fiery and smoky kick, in contrast with the brown sugar and black treacle that creates a sweet and sticky flavour. We're already salivating at this complex flavour profile. 

Looking for more brunch ideas? We have tons of recipe ideas for you to consider for your next leisurely weekend meal, from sweet to savory suggestions. 

Ingredients:

  • 400g (240g drained) tinned cannellini beans
  • 200g passata
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp ancho chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp black treacle
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Bonfire smoky baked beans recipe

Method:

Serves: Two

Time: 45 mins

1. Preheat the oven to 160०C.

2. Over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil in an oven-safe frying pan. Finely slice the smoked streaky bacon rashers and gently fry until just beginning to crisp.

3. Finely slice the shallot and add to the bacon. Stir to coat in the rendered bacon fat and let the shallot sweat for five minutes, or until translucent. Do not let them brown.

4. Finely chop or mince a clove of garlic and add to the bacon and onions. Sweat for another two minutes.

5. Add the smoked paprika, cumin, ancho chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir well to coat the bacon, onions, and garlic in the spices. Cook for another minute or so to cook out the spices.

6. Add the drained cannellini beans, passata, brown sugar, white wine vinegar, and black treacle to the pan and stir to incorporate all of the ingredients. Let the beans simmer for 5 minutes and then transfer to the hot oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the beans are tender.

7. Frake suggests serving on toasted sourdough with perfectly fried eggs for a warming and hearty brunch.

Jaclyn Turner
Ecommerce Editor

Jaclyn is an eCommerce editor at Future Home Interest, where she oversees sleep content including mattresses and bedding – in fact, she has passed our five-step certification process to become a verified customer advisor on mattresses. She regularly scouts out the best of the best for buying guides to help you fill your home with only the best. She joined the team in January 2021. She has previously worked with sites like Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, The Spruce, The Spruce Eats, and MyDomaine, but got her start at the trade mag Home Furnishings News, which fueled her excitement for innovation in the home category and seeing the newest launches.  When Jaclyn's not working, she loves long strolls through HomeGoods, unwinding with a chilled glass of Rosé, and entertaining her Cavapoo  Reese.