Cajun Red Beans and Rice

adapted from the American Feast's Sustainable Food Blog Red Beans and Rice

Serves 6 (main dish servings)
Soaking time: 8 hours • Passive cooking time: 2 hours • Active cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 tsp liquid smoke
2 cups Dry Red Kidney Beans
3-4 Bay Leaves
2 Tablespoons Crisco Shortening or butter
6 Celery Stalks, Diced
1 Large Spanish Onion, Diced
1 Bunch Scallions, Diced
3 Green Peppers, Diced
1 Tablespoon Dried Thyme Leaves
3/4 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Salt to Taste
2 Cups Uncle Ben's or Carolina Rice
3 Cups Water


Steps:

1. Sort through the dry beans, rinse with cold water, and cover with an inch of water. Let soak for 8 hours until rehydrated. After rehydrating, drain and rinse the beans. Return to a large pot and cover with 6 cups water. Add liquid smoke and bay leaves.

2. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, and let simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. At this point, beans should be quite tender.


3. Saute celery, onion, and peppers in Crisco or butter until soft. Add to simmering beans. Add in remaining spices and let simmer an additional half hour.

4. While beans are simmering, bring 3 cups water and 2 cups white rice to a boil in a small saucepan.

5. When beans and rice have finished, serve 1 cup beans over a half cup of rice. Add salt as desired.

Notes: This recipe originally calls for simmering the beans with a ham hock. As we eat largely vegetarian, I omitted that step, and instead included the teaspoon of liquid smoke. This recipe comes out a little spicy from the cayenne and pepper, so if you are sensitive to spice, consider using less.

Historical context: Red beans and rice is a staple of Cajun cooking. Doing the research for the recipe, I learned that Cajun territory encompasses Louisiana south of US Highway 190 and west of the Mississippi River, while Creole is considered the New Orleans area specifically. This recipe features the "Cajun trinity" of onion, bell pepper, and celery. These three items are the base seasoning mixture for most recipes such as gumbos, jambalayas, etouffees, sauces, chili and stews.