It is rumored that the great Louie Armstrong would often close his letters and autographs with “Red Beans & Ricely Yours.”
Red beans and rice is New Orleans comfort food and one of those concoctions that just gets better and better after a few days in the fridge.
I’m sure that bean purists will argue for using dried beans soaked in water over night, but oye what a pain that is. We here in the stew use canned dark red kidney beans which are actually cheaper than the dried beans – for some reason – and you don’t have any prep work to do on them. You can make this any time of year and it’ll be good. Just pair it with wine in the fall and winter, beer in the spring and summer.
Here is our tribute to old Satchmo.
Need This
1 – 40 ounce can of dark red kidney beans (store brand is fine).
1 large onion – chopped
1 large green pepper – chopped
3 slices of bacon – chopped
1-1/2 cups of rice
Dried thyme
Creole seasoning (like Tony Chacheres’s)
Salt
Cayenne powder
Do This
Hiss a little non-stick cooking spray into the bottom of a large pot. Add the chopped bacon, onion and green pepper to the pot and put a medium heat under it. Fry those three ingredients a good 3 to 4 minutes stirring frequently until the bacon begins to brown-up.
Open up the can of kidney beans. Drain off the liquid from the beans in a colander in the sink and then rinse off the beans with clean cold water.
Dump the beans into the pot with the bacon and veg. Add clean cold water to the pot until it covers the beans by at least 1 inch. Turn up the heat to get it all a-boiling.
When the beans come to a boil add a big pinch (about 1 tablespoon) of dried thyme to the pot. Shake in the creole seasoning and cayenne to taste.*
Reduce the heat to low and let the beans simmer gently (uncovered) for about 1 hour. After 1 hour, add salt to taste, put a lid on it, and turn off the heat. Let the beans sit (covered) until you’re ready to serve.
Make the rice according to package directions (2 cups of water, a little salt, a pinch of cayenne if you like).
Warm up the beans before serving. Serve hot in shallow soup bowls. Rice down first, then ladle beans over top.
Serves at least 4: My cost approx. $ 4.90 total – about $ 1.22 per serving.
*Just a little cayenne can add a lot of heat. You want just enough so that it twinges the back of the throat but does not burn your mouth. GNM