AI-generated image
Fèves au lard
Fèves au lard: Quebec baked beans with salt pork, maple syrup and molasses
At the cabanes à sucre (sugar shacks) of Quebec's Beauce and Laurentides each spring, and on many Quebec Sunday breakfast tables, fèves au lard come with eggs, toast and a jug of maple syrup: small white navy beans baked very slowly with salt pork, onion, maple syrup and molasses until they're dark, sticky and tender. Salt pork is cured pork belly. Soak the beans overnight first. The common mistake is adding the syrup, molasses and salt at the start of soaking or boiling; sugar and salt stop the skins softening, so par-cook the beans first. For a vegetarian version, leave out the pork and add 3 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp smoked paprika. Chef's tip: check every hour and top up with hot water just to the surface; beans that dry out on top go hard and never soften.
- Total time
- 420 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb dried navy (haricot) beanssoaked overnight in plenty of cold water
- 7 oz salt pork or unsmoked pork bellyrind on, cut into 2 cm pieces
- 1 onionpeeled and halved
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp saltadjust, salt pork is salty
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Drain the soaked 1 ⅛ lb dried navy (haricot) beans, cover with fresh water in a large pan and simmer for 45–60 minutes, until the skins crack and peel back when you blow on a few in a spoon. Drain, keeping the cooking water.
50 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 300°F (275°F fan).
Step 3: Put half of 7 oz salt pork or unsmoked pork belly in the bottom of a lidded casserole or bean pot with 1 onion and 1 bay leaf. Add the beans and press the rest of the pork into the top.
Step 4: Mix ½ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup molasses, 1 tsp mustard powder, ½ tsp black pepper and 1 tsp salt with 500 ml of the hot bean water and pour over; the liquid should just cover the beans.
Step 5: Cover and bake for 5–6 hours, checking every hour and topping up with hot water to the surface, until the beans are very tender, dark brown and sitting in a thick, sticky sauce. Uncover for the last 45 minutes so the top browns.
330 minStep 6: Rest for 15 minutes and serve with eggs and toast. They keep 4 days in the fridge and reheat well until piping hot.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 17 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 14 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fèves au lard take?
- About 420 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 400 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of maple syrup?
- Honey or golden syrup, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Bsissa
A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.
Tunisian
Sabudana khichdi
Sabudana khichdi is the dish that sees Maharashtra through every vrat (fast), from Navratri to Ekadashi, but it's so good that people eat it any day of the week. Soaked sago pearls are tossed in a pan with crushed roasted peanuts, cubes of potato, cumin and green chilli until each pearl turns glassy and separate, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, chewy, nutty and gently hot. Fasting rules vary from family to family, so check yours; this version uses rock salt and no asafoetida, onion or garlic. Traditionally it's cooked in ghee; use ghee instead of oil if you aren't keeping it vegan. Chef's tip: soak the sago in just enough water to cover by the height of the pearls themselves, no more; too much water is the reason khichdi turns into one sticky lump.
Indian
Doi chira
Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.
Bangladeshi