I absolutely adore this recipe and even more so at this time of year when it reminds me of dark autumn evenings and bonfire nights from my childhood when we ate this hurriedly before heading out to see fireworks! You could make the beans by themselves and serve simply on toast but I love them with the sticky sweetness of a roasted sweet potato or squash cut into wedges. 

You can also add sausages into the mix if you wanted to bulk the meal out. I’ve used both pork and vegetarian sausages before which I just cook alongside the sweet potatoes and then add into the pot with the beans for the final 15 minutes so that they flavour the sauce even more! 

Homemade Boston Beans with Baked Sweet Potato

For the Boston beans:

•  1 x tin cannellini beans, drained 
•  500g tomato passata
•  1/2 red onion, finely chopped
•  2 garlic cloves
•  2 tsp maple syrup
•  2 tsp Worcester sauce 
•  1/2 tsp salt
•  250ml vegetable stock 

For the sweet potato:

•  1-2 sweet potatoes, cut in half
•  1 tbsp olive oil
•  1 tsp smoked paprika
•  1/2 tsp sea salt 

Preheat the oven to 180°C and rub the sweet potato halves with olive oil, salt and paprika. Place on a baking tray and place in the oven for 45-50minutes or until soft, squishy and caramelised around the edges.

Once the potatoes are in the oven, add all the Boston bean ingredients (excluding the beans!) into an ovenproof dish. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil before transferring to the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from the oven and add the beans. Give everything a big stir before returning the dish to the oven for 15minutes by which time the sweet potato should be ready. Remove and serve immediately topped with sour cream, grated cheese, or , for a purely plant-based meal I finish with basil oil (blitzed fresh basil, olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt).

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have always done!

Lyndsay x