Sigh. My bean chilli has gone wrong, can I rescue it?

[abirdinthehand]

I tried soaking beans for the first time. I soaked them overnight and then cooked them as on the packet - but the bottom layer stuck and burnt. I took the top layer out and used this in my bean chilli, but there are definate smokey undertones there...
Any ideas how to disguise it, or is the whole meal a dead loss?
Serve me right for burning the beans - but I hate throwing food out. :0(

bump?

a hint of smokeyness might be quite nice in a chilli, Got any smoked paprika? or chorizo. Or maybe some barbecue sauce.

Try more chilli, sour cream/yoghurt or fresh coriander.
Personally I use tinned beans. Basic brands are pretty cheap and are fine in chilli.

Well, I always add smoked paprika to my beany chilli to give it a smokey undertone on purpose.
I always add a sueeze of lemon juice to anything that tastes "murky" for whatever reason, and a big pince of sugar to anything a bit bitter. Usually helps in all but the most extreme cases (i often burn things if I pop on Mumsnet while wairing for things to cook ).

Yes, I usually use tesco own brand beans, but figured dried beans would work out WAY cheaper if I get used to them - we're on a pretty tight budget at the mo. No chorizo sorry, we're veggie!

I'll try the paprika - also found a suggestion t add some peanut butter on a blog here think it will work?

Disguise it with lots of spices. Cumin, paprika, chilli (obviously), lemon juice, dark chocolate, frsh coriander, even a pinch of cinamon. That should do the trick.

I'll add more spices, but can't add too mjuch chilli or the kids won't touch it. I'm going to risk the peanut butter remedy as well.... we'll see...

um peanut butter? well, it's not me that's going to eat it...

Right, added a tablespoon of peanut butter and a teaspoon of fajita seasoning that's been in the back of the cupboard for about 2 years and it's totally yummy.

Peanut butter works - sure you don't want to pop over for dinner sinicalsal?

lol, well out of curiosity!

glad it's rescued.

yup, I've got back on the meal-planning bandwagon this week in an effort to get our stupid food bill down, so v. relieved!

A Bird -next time you cook beans, make sure you cover them with more water than you'd think necessary; you can always drain them when cooked and keep an eye on them. They do work out MUCH cheaper than canned (and better for you). You can do a big batch in a stock pot and then freeze them in can-sized portions for your next recipe. Easy-peasy.

hah, popbuscuit, a girl after my on heart! How come they are better for you than canned? I had not thought of that aspect of it, just assumed they would be the same healthyness for half the price!

It's because the canned varieties contain extra salt and the cans are almost always lined with a substance that contains BPA (unless you seek out an organic brand that declares itself BPA-free). I eat a lot of beans and I swear the home-cooked ones taste better .

I used to be vegan so cooked beans almost every day (still do). I just soak them in a bowl before going to bed and then put them on to cook either first thing in the morning, before school run, or leave them and cook them around lunchtime when I'm back home again. Sooooo healthy and yummy and cheap too!

Well I'm really pleased with my chilli (plus secret peanut butter) now. Do you do yours in a slow cooker popbiscuit? How does that work?

Hadn't thought of the BPA / salt issues - we bought a lot of value tinned beans so no, not organic - they are over £1 per tin

No, no slow cooker. I just use my giant stock pot and plan to plan to cook them when I know I have an hour at home (to keep an eye on them!). You can obviously be getting on with other things while they are bubbling away. Chickpeas take a bit longer...about an hour and a half. Lentils don't need to be soaked at all (usually the recipe will tell you to add some water though).