Red Beans and Rice

Walk with me down Frenchmen Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Soulful, amazing Jazz music pours out of the open doors of most of the bars; some of the best Jazz music in the world. Here and there you can catch delicious, elusive smells, fabulous odors that are different from any other place on Earth. New Orleans cuisine is based on French cuisine, brought there by the Acadian settlers when they migrated from French Canada and suffused with the influences of Spanish, African American and Southern American cuisines. The Acadian settlers based their diets on the tradition in the French countryside of using whatever ingredients were available to make dishes often resembling stews with rich sauces. Many dishes have a mirépoix base (called the holy Trinity in Louisiana, their mirépoix consists of bell peppers, celery and onions) and a roux as the base of the sauce. As it is easy to grow in Louisiana's hot, wet climate, rice replaced potatoes as the staple starch in the Acadian transplants' diets.

Red beans and rice is a classic Louisiana dish and can be found on many New Orleans menus. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy, intensely comforting, it is a combination of rice with sausage, red kidney beans and a spice blend unique to Louisiana's melting pot cuisine. The beans are often cooked with leftover pork bones from another meal. This filling meal can be served on its own or with steamed corn on the cob or cornbread.

I've made my own Cajun seasoning, which I will share in another post.

Red Beans and Rice

Makes 10 servings

4 cups red kidney beans in their liquid (see notes)

1.5 lbs fully cooked bratwurst, sliced

1/ 4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon mild chili powder

1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, diced (see notes)

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 - 2 bay leaves (see notes)

Salt, to taste

For the rice:

1.5 cups long grain white rice

1 Tablespoon butter

3 spice cloves

1 bay leaf

Salt, generously to taste




Method:

In a large skillet heat olive oil and saute onion, celery, green pepper and jalapeño in a pinch of salt until they begin to soften. Add sausages and sear for a couple of minutes, until veggies begin to brown. Add garlic, bay leaf, Cajun seasoning, paprika, oregano, thyme, tomato paste, chili powder salt and pepper and cook for 90 seconds, stirring frequently. Add beans and 8 ounces of water and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer while you prepare the rice. In a medium pan saute rice in butter for 90 seconds to toast it. Add cloves, bay leaf and 3 cups of water. Generously salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn it to the lowest heat setting. Cook for 15 minutes, then fluff rice and fold rice into beans.




Serve as is or with cornbread or corn on the cob.




Notes: you can use canned beans or soak and boil your own. I made my own beans and boiled them with a very generous pinch of salt and a bay leaf. Traditionally you can also use leftover pork bones to season the beans. If you like it spicy (this version is fairly mild), leave in the seeds and ribs of the jalapeńo, or use a hotter pepper altogether. Scotch bonnet might work well here.