By ERICA MARTINEZ
Giada De Laurentiis Boosts Her Baked Beans With Beer And Molasses
While baked beans don't come to mind when thinking about Italian food, Giada De Laurentiis likes to give them an Italian-inspired flavor with ingredients like beer and molasses.
The beer brings color and character to the dish, while the molasses brings that smoky, sweet, familiar flavor of a classic batch of baked beans.
To make her Italian-style baked beans, De Laurentiis lightly browns pancetta, then adds chopped onions, garlic, and cannellini beans to a large pot.
She adds dark beer, molasses, tomato sauce, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Once it begins to simmer, it is transferred to the oven until bubbly.