Chez Dobie Red Beans and Rice

In New Orleans most restaurants feature Red Beans and Rice on Mondays.  Likewise, many South Louisiana homes have the scent of cooking red beans wafting through the kitchen at the beginning of the week.  This practice dates back to when Monday was the day that women attended to laundry.  A pot of beans seasoned with the  leftover ham from Sunday dinner could sit atop a low flame all day with little tending and the tired laundress could have an easy meal to feed everyone.

Preparing for Monday

At our house, we start that Monday practice on Saturday night, when we put the beans to soak.  On Sunday the slow cooker or a Magnalite pot on the stove works its magic with simple ingredients.  When Monday’s dinnertime rolls around, the red beans are ready, and life is good.

Throughout our years living away from Louisiana, I’ve successfully used dried red kidney beans from different vendors for this recipe.  But if I can stash a pound of Camellia Red Beans in my suitcase during a trip to my hometown, I’m all the happier.  And so is everyone gathered around our table.

Camellia Brand beans are high quality, grown by farmers with sustainable practices, and remind me of the culinary wonderland where I grew up. They are a taste of home.

Assembling the pot of beans

Putting the beans together to simmer in a slow cooker is a quite easy.  A version of the Cajun trinity—onions, celery, and garlic—gets chopped.  I add those to the soaked beans along with dried thyme, ground cumin, a bay leaf, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Nothing needs to be sautéed in a separate pan.

A meaty ham hock adds more flavor to the beans as they cook.

A few hours later, the beans are perfectly tender, and the meat is falling off of the bone.  After cooling the cooked meat, I separate and chop it finely, then add it back into the bean mixture.  Sometimes I scoop out a cup or so of cooked beans and mash them, then return them to the pot to make the bean stock more creamy. Finally, I put the whole ceramic slow cooker crock in the refrigerator overnight.  Chilling the mixture makes it easy to skim any fat from the surface the next day before putting on a pot of rice to cook.

Beauty against the simple canvas of rice

Next-day beans are next-level. The smoky flavor of the ham hock is woven throughout the creamy broth. The beans and seasonings have become one.  Ladled over freshly cooked white rice, the Cajun starch of choice, they’re almost ready to eat.

When it’s time to serve, we like to sprinkle finely chopped parsley and green onions on top of our bowls of red beans and rice.  And then we pass the bottle of Tabasco and a Cajun seasoning like Tony Chacere’s.

This is comfort food that is delectable and budget-friendly. And we don’t need the excuse of doing laundry to cook up a big, tasty batch.

Chez Dobie Red Beans and Rice

Dawn Dobie

A South Louisiana speciality, traditionally served on Mondays but good any day of the week.

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Ingredients

  

For the beans:

• 1 pound bag red kidney beans picked over and rinsed (I like Camellia brand)
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 2 stalks of celery chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 large smoked ham hock --find a good one
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin –or more
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme –or more
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

For serving:

• Cooked rice
• 1/4-1/2 cup finely minced fresh parsley leaves optional
• 1/4-1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion tops
• Tabasco
• Tony Chacere or other Cajun seasoning

Instructions

 

For the beans:

• Two nights before you want to serve the beans (or at least one night before), soak the beans in water. Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 1 ½ inches. The next morning, drain the beans before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
• Crockpot method: Place beans, broth, onion, celery, garlic, ham hock, cumin, thyme, peppers, and bay leaf in crock pot. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 7-8 hours. The beans should be tender and the meat should be falling off the bone.
• Stove-top cooking: Place beans, chicken broth, chopped vegetables, and ham hock in large soup pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Lower heat to simmer and cook uncovered about 10 minutes. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Add cumin, thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and bay leaf. Stir. Continue cooking bean mixture with cover slightly ajar over low simmering heat for 1 ½ to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The beans should be tender and the meat should be falling off the bone.
• Before serving, move ham hock from pot to a bowl and allow to cool slightly. Discard all but good ham meat. Chop this meat and set aside. Scoop about 1 of cooked beans from pot and mash well in a bowl. Return the mashed beans and the chopped ham to the pot. Stir and taste for seasonings. You may want to add salt at this point or more pepper. I sometimes add another ½ teaspoon of cumin and thyme to the beans at this point, depending upon seasoning preferences.

For serving:

• When you’re ready to eat---Serve the beans over cooked rice in bowls. Garnish with chopped parsley and green onion tops. Pass the Tabasco and Tony’s around the table.

Notes

I think red beans are always better the day after they’ve been cooked. So if you can refrigerate them and then reheat the next day, you will be pleasantly surprised. The cooked beans also freeze well.