barbecue beans

300g mixed dried beans, soaked overnight in plenty of water
400ml water
1 medium carrot, cut into small dice
15g butter
1 finely chopped medium onion
1 crushed garlic clove
110g demerara sugar
2 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
1 heaped dstsp tomato pureé
1 tbsp soy sauce
100ml cider vinegar
150ml passata
1 fat red chilli, seeded and finely chopped (or to taste, really - who knows what you like?)
1 tsp cayenne (ditto)
pinch of salt
25g plain flour

put beans and water in a pan, bring to boil, cover and simmer for about 30 mins, adding more water if required, until the beans are tender. Drain, reserve cooking liquor, in a small pan, add carrot. Bring to boil, simmer gently for 10 mins until carrot is tender. Drain and reserve cooking liquor (yes, again!).

heat butter, cook onion and garlic gently in covered pan for about 5 mins without colouring. Add sugar, mustard, tomato pureé and soy sauce, stir well, cook gently for about 5 mins.

stir in the beans, vinegar, passata, chilli, cayenne and salt. Mix the flour with a little of the cooking liquor until smooth, and stir this into the bean mixture togther with the remaining cooking liquor and diced carrot. Bring to boil, simmer gently without covering for 20-30 minutes. stirring occasionally.

if the beans are large or old, they may need a little extra cooking time.