Karen Wright: Cheap and cheerful dish perfect for Bonfire Night get-together!

Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot!
Karen’s ‘Franks and Beans’ recipeKaren’s ‘Franks and Beans’ recipe
Karen’s ‘Franks and Beans’ recipe

Bonfire Night was one of the high points of the year when I was a child.

My brother and his mates spent weeks ‘chubbing’ (collecting wood) for the bonfire.

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Then we would make a Guy Fawkes. My parents would get involved too and we always had a fine specimen on display, mostly dressed in my dad’s cast-off clothing.

We had a big garden suitable for a massive party so lots of friends and neighbours came.

Everyone brought something along for the table.

Mrs Howes, the farmer’s wife, made the best brandy snaps. I can see her now, rolling them around her wooden spoon handle.

We had all the usual favourites, parkin, toffee apples, jacket potatoes and pie and peas to name just a few.

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I don’t remember having anything on the potatoes, I don’t think chilli con carne had landed in Featherstone back then!

I cooked this recipe in the slow cooker but you could do it on the hob too. I’m calling it Franks and Beans.

I took a big pack of Frankfurters, hot dog sausages they are commonly called, and started from there.

I chopped up a large onion and put it in the slow cooker. Then I cut up three peppers, using red, yellow and orange, to try to get the bonfire colours into the dish. They went in with the onion.

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Next I added six tablespoons of white wine vinegar, one tablespoon of smoked paprika, one teaspoon of garlic powder, one tablespoon of wholegrain mustard, one tablespoon of ketchup and a few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.

To make it a bit of a barbecue sauce vibe I also added a tablespoon of brown sugar.

Then went in a tin of baked beans, a tin of mixed beans and a can of chopped tomatoes.

I cut the sausages into chunks and in they went too.

I seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and cooked for a few hours until the vegetables were tender.

This dish is cheap and cheerful and great for a bonfire night party.

I’m going to eat mine with a jacket potato but it would also work well with rice.

Enjoy the recipe and enjoy the fireworks!