In the old days in my hometown of New Orleans, Monday was washing day – and that meant Monday became red beans day. Each Monday began with the ritual of putting a pot of beans on the stove. Different people had different recipes, of course. But those red beans slow-cooked for hours and hours, being declared ready just about the time everybody was starving for dinner. Here’s my rendition, just in time for Mardi Gras!
1 pound dry red kidney beans
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped
Creole seasoning to taste
1 Roma tomato
1 pound smoked sausage, cut bite-sized
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 cup tomato salsa
½ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon thyme leaves
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Tabasco hot pepper sauce to taste
Steamed white rice
Chopped green onions
Soak the dry beans, either in cold water overnight or by combining with water in a pot, bringing to a boil for 2 minutes, removing from heat and soaking for 1 hour. In a sauté pan with about half the olive oil, sauté roughly half the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic with all the carrot until caramelized, about 5 minutes, adding Creole seasoning to taste. In a food processor or blender, puree this mixture with the tomato until a thick paste.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown the sausage in the remaining olive oil, then add the remaining seasoning vegetables. Stir until lightly caramelized, seasoning as you go. Add the soaked beans, chicken broth and water, followed by the salsa, tomato sauce and vinegar. Add all remaining ingredients and Creole seasoning to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until the beans are tender, 2-3 hours. Add more water if necessary to keep beans from drying out. At the end of cooking, for creamier red beans, ladle some beans onto a plate, crush with a fork and add them back to the pot, or puree some in a food processor or blender. Serve over white rice sprinkled with green onions. Serves 10-12.
I HATE recipes that call for ambiguous ingedients like “salsa” and “Creole Seasoning”. WHAT the heck does the author have in mind? There are hundreds of salsas, rang from seriuosly hot to “yech this is sooooo sweet (and tasteless too)”. Therre are at least 50+ creole seasonings, at my last count!
So, recipe posters, PLEASE either give a recipe for such ambiguous ingredients or, at the very LEAST, recommend a brand that makes the taste YOU are trying to convey!!!
Actually, in cookbooks, we are not supposed to recommend brand names as though that matters more than using the version you like best. So whenever you read “salsa” or “Creole seasoning” in a cookbook or magazine, that is how food writers say use whichever one you like best. There IS no best, of course, only the one that you like best. And that way, wherever you are cooking, you don’t go on some silly wild goose chase for some specific brand. It works!