Fèves au lard used to bake all night in a wood stove. A slow cooker does the same job unattended. The one step not to skip is precooking the soaked beans until tender before adding the molasses and maple, because sugar and acid stop beans from softening.
Ingredients (8 servings)
- 500 g (about 2 1/2 cups) dried navy beans
- 1 onion, chopped
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) maple syrup
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) molasses
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) dry mustard
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) lard, or 150 g salt pork cut in cubes
- 5 ml (1 tsp) salt
- Pepper
- About 750 ml (3 cups) bean cooking water
Method
- Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water. Drain.
- Cover with fresh water and simmer 45 to 60 minutes, until a bean crushes easily between your fingers. Drain, keeping the cooking water.
- Put the beans and onion in the slow cooker. Whisk the maple syrup, molasses, mustard, salt, pepper and 750 ml of the cooking water and pour over. Add the lard or salt pork.
- Cook on low 8 to 10 hours, stirring once or twice and adding a little hot water if the beans look dry.
- Taste and adjust the salt before serving.
Notes
- Beans that stay hard were not precooked long enough, or the water is very hard. Precook longer next time.
- Keeps 5 days in the fridge and freezes well.
- Lard gives the classic rich taste without smoked or cured pork.
More Quebec classics: oven-baked fèves au lard and cretons. About lard: where to buy lard in Canada.
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