Or add about half a cup of water, bring to the boil on the hob, then reduce to the lowest heat with a bubble every, say, 30 seconds, and leave the lid off. Now either put them in the oven for an hour with the lid on at around 180 degrees. Mix all the ingredients except the salt in a cast iron pot (what the Americans call a dutch oven, and middle class people call a Le Creuset, even if, like me, yours is a cheap knockoff from Tesco). Half a box of passata (or increase amount of tomato purée and add some water)Ī tablespoon of very red unsmoked paprikaĪ teaspoon of smoked paprika (or both with smoked if you prefer)īrown sugar to taste - you’d be surprised how much you need of salt and sugar to make them taste like Heinz (or maybe not), but fuckit this ain’t a health farm and life is miserable enough.

That said it all.Ģ tbsp of tomato purée I tsp of garlic or onion powder He paused, confused, and then rolled in it, legs in the air, tongue hanging out. We threw a chunk to the dog, who yelped excitedly, ran over, and gave it a fulsome, anticipatory sniff. Now we had a block of the stuff, staring us down, humming and steaming. We all followed, and could hardly believe that people put this stuff in their mouths. But my Dad showed us the way and bravely, with forced relish, ate a piece. We crowded round the table, and the dog sat just as expectantly by my Mum's side. One lunch time, it was presented, surrounded by a golden crescent of Jacob's Cream Crackers, on an English Rose plate. We had seen this on the Food and Drink programme, and because my mum had a new job, It was time for us to ascend to the ranks of the middle class. In 1987, a new thing arrived on the shelves of Asda in Preston.

T. meinz portrait painter