TASHA TUDOR'S BAKED BEANS

2 cups dry pea beans (1 lb)
1 pinch baking soda
2 medium onions, peeled
1 bacon slice
2 tablespoons light molasses
1 quart tomato juice
salt and freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, divided use
1/2 pound good-quality sausage meat
1/2 teaspoon Colman's dry English mustard

Wash and pick over the beans, then parboil them until their skin pops when you blow on them. Drain, cover with fresh water, add a pinch of baking soda, and simmer until the beans squash when you pinch them. Drain.

Now put the onions in the bottom of a bean pot, add half the beans and the slice of bacon, the molasses, 1 cup of the tomato juice, and salt and pepper. Sprinkle with two teaspoons of the brown sugar. Layer the rest of the beans with sausage meat, English mustard, and the remainder of the brown sugar. Fill the pot with tomato juice to cover the beans.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Cover the beans and bake them all day in a slow oven. About halfway through baking, taste for seasoning. Be careful not to overdo the brown sugar. Stir the beans 2 or 3 times during baking. If the liquid boils away, just add more tomato juice, making sure to keep the beans covered during baking. Bake for about 8 hours or until the beans are tender.

Servings: 10 to 12
Source: The Tasha Tudor Cookbook by Tasha Tudor