Guernsey Bean Jar
Encyclopedia
Bean Jar is a local dish of the Channel Island of Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...

. The traditional Guernsey Bean Jar has been around for centuries, and still proves popular today. It is a cassoulet
Cassoulet
Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat , pork skin and white haricot beans....

-type bean dish.

History

Bean Jar has long been a well known part of Guernsey culture. Bakers
Bakers
Baker's is a supermarket chain operating primarily in the metro area of Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by Kroger.-History:Abraham Baker opened his first grocery store in Walnut, Iowa in 1927. His first Omaha-area store opened in Bellevue, Nebraska in 1947, and his first in Omaha itself opened in 1957...

 would allow residents to cook the dish in their ovens overnight, to be eaten at breakfast. This was common practice until the 1920s. The dish is still popular in Guernsey, and served at Lé Viaer Marchi
Viaer Marchi
Lé Viaer Marchi is an annual festival held in Guernsey on the first Monday of July.Held for more than 30 years, Lé Viaer Marchi is an evening show, organised by the National Trust of Guernsey. It showcases local craftsmanship in Guernsey's history and holds displays showing the way in which...

, an annual festival.

The recipe is thought to have been taken to the USA, along with other northern French bean and Southern French Cassoulet
Cassoulet
Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat , pork skin and white haricot beans....

 recipes, and was used as an inspiration in the recipes for the North American colonial dish of baked beans
Baked beans
Baked beans is a dish containing beans, sometimes baked but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a tomato...

.

Recipes

There are many variations of Bean Jar, as with many traditional recipes. Some recipes use different types of beans and there are also vegetarian versions.

1 pigs trotter or hock, or shin of beef
½lb (200g) Haricot beans
½lb (200g) butter beans
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots diced.
1 bay leaf
Bay leaf
Bay leaf refers to the aromatic leaf of the bay laurel . Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance. The leaves are often used to flavor soups, stews, braises and pâtés in Mediterranean cuisine...


salt and pepper to taste.
2 pints beef stock or water.

Soak the beans overnight in water. (Do not use this water in the recipe).

Place all the ingredients in either an earthenware pot or a large casserole dish and pour over the water or stock.
Cover the jar or dish and place it in a moderate oven at gas 2-3 or 150-170°C for 6-8 hours.
Check the dish occasionally and top up the water level as needed.

Check the seasoning, leaving the meat in the dish, remove the bones and the bay leaf.
Serve with crusty bread or Guernsey Biscuits (a savoury bread roll) and Guernsey butter.

Variations include using all haricot beans, using 1lb of carrots instead of just two, using 1lb of onions instead of just one, adding in two potatoes and adding a bouquet garni with the bay leaf.

The vegetarian version is much the same but without the pig's trotter and using vegetable stock instead of beef.

External links

BBC - Guernsey features: Bean Jar
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