Red beans and rice is a staple in Louisiana, and was Louis Armstrong’s favorite food (he signed letters, “Red beans and ricely, Louis Armstrong.” Really!) This dish was traditionally made on Mondays, which were laundry days. The women didn’t have time to stay in the kitchen all day, so they would throw leftover ham and bones from Sunday dinner in a pot with kidney beans and the, “Cajun holy trinity,” of onions, celery, and bell peppers. This would simmer all day, then be eaten with rice.
Kidney beans and rice together give the full spectrum of protein, so this could be modified for vegans. I have made it as described above and decided it needed more meat.
Ingredients
1 ham bone with some meat still on it
1.5 pounds of kielbasa
2 cups kidney beans
2.5 cups rice
2 bell peppers
2 onions
1/2 of a bunch of celery
2-3 tomatoes
1/2 stick of butter
spices
DAY ONE
I cooked and did prep over two days. On the first day I threw the ham bone in a pot with a lid and boiled it for 3-4 hours, which renders most of the fat/marrow, and gets the meat to fall off of the bone. After this cooled I threw away the bones, cartilage, and remaining fat and put the bits of ham in a large bowl. Dice up your tomatoes and throw them in the pot full of meat juice you are left with, along with your spices. This can sit on the stove overnight.
There are pre-mixed Cajun spice blends. I don’t have any of those, so I made something up. I use a lot of spices for this because all of the beans and rice are going to taste bland otherwise. I recommend spicing it once at this point, and then tasting it when everything is done and making adjustments if needed. I used the following seasonings:
salt
black pepper
garlic
paprika
parsley
oregano
cumin
coriander
sassafras
turmeric
red pepper or cayenne
chili powder
Now, dice up the onions, bell peppers, and celery. Cut the kielbasa into one-inch chunks. Put all of this in your large bowl with the ham scraps and put it in the fridge overnight.
Finally, start soaking the kidney beans in a large pot. I like to drain them into a colander and rinse them 3-4 times the day before cooking them. It helps reduce the gas.
DAY TWO
When you get up, drain and rinse the beans one last time, then dump the smaller pot of meat juice, spices, and diced tomatoes in with the beans in the large pot, along with lots of water (enough for the rice to cook in later). Cook for about an hour, then add your ham scraps, vegetables, and kielbasa. Cook for another hour, or until the beans are done. Add the rice and the butter, simmer low with regular stirring until the rice is done (usually 15-20 minutes), then leave covered for ten minutes with the stove turned off. This makes sure the rice is fully cooked, and it will soak up most of the liquid left in the pot.
Add more seasonings if you need to, then dig in. This recipe makes a lot of food that reheats well for lunch or dinner all week.
eatbensmeat 