Red beans and rice, served throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, is one of the signature dishes of New Orleans, a city rich with the influences of Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, that’s why Louis Armstrong, New Orleans’s pioneering cultural ambassador to the world, used to sign off his letters, “Red beans and ricely yours….”
If you are not a carnivore, leave out the sausage and ham, swap in vegetable stock for the chicken stock, and you’ve got a lean, vegetarian version of this winner.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Total preparation time: 40 minutes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces ham
1 large onion
4 medium celery stalks
1 large green bell pepper
3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning (for a homemade version see below)
1 pound andouille sausage
Two 15 1/2-ounce cans red kidney beans
6 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf (preferably Turkish) 1 1/2 cups cooked white or brown rice (1/2 cup uncooked equals 1 ½ cups cooked)
Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Medium chop the ham (about 1 1/3 cups) and add to the saucepan; cook until the ham is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, medium chop the onion (about 2 cups), celery (about 2 cups), and bell pepper (about 1 1/2 cups). Add the onion to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until it is lightly browned. Add the celery and bell pepper and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Mince the garlic (about 1 tablespoon) and add to the vegetables in the saucepan; stir in the Creole Seasoning and cook 1 minute more.
Halve the sausage lengthwise and slice it crosswise ¼-inch thick (about 3 cups); drain and rinse the beans. Add the chicken broth, sausage, beans, ham and bay leaf to the vegetable mixture and simmer 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaf, stir in the rice, heat and serve.
Creole Seasoning
Combine 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon hot paprika, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder, 1 ½ teaspoons cayenne, 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano and 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme. Makes about ½cup
