Simmer a Pot of Red Beans and Rice—An Easy to Make Cajun Tradition—While You Tend to Other Duties

My husband and I have visited New Orleans several times. The first time we explored the city, we stopped at what seemed like a hole-in-the-wall café. It happened to be a Monday, and the special of the day was Red Beans and Rice—a quintessential dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine. Russ told the server, “I’ll have the special”.

When the server delivered our lunch, he shared that the owner of the restaurant grew up in New Orleans. The owner’s mother always made this dish on Mondays because it was “wash day”. He continued, “Our Monday special is always Red Beans and Rice.”

It seems this dish is the traditional Monday meal in Louisiana. Why? Families would simmer a pot of red beans all day on Mondays while they tended to laundry duties. The owner’s mother had recently passed, and part of his way of honoring her memory was to serve this classic dish every Monday.

Need a good recipe to simmer all day while you tend to laundry or other duties, try this delicious recipe.

Red Beans and Rice

Serves 6

I met a woman from New Orleans named Louise who shared her family’s recipe for Red Beans and Rice with me. Following is my take on Louise’s recipe combining some ideas from a cookbook given to me by my friend, Pamela Wyman, entitled “The Cotton Country Collection”.

1 pound dried red beans

1 ½ cups yellow onion, chopped

1 ½ cup celery, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped

3 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

½ cup roasted red bell pepper, chopped

½ cup green onions, sliced

2 teaspoons salt

8 cups water

1 pound andouille sausage

The night before: Rinse and sort beans and pick out any debris or small stones. Soak beans overnight in just enough water to cover. For a quick soak: Place the beans in a kettle and cover with water, about 2 to 3 inches above beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes. Remove the kettle from the heat, cover, and let sit 1 hour.

Rinse beans well until water is clear and drain. Place beans into a large kettle along with onion, celery, parsley, garlic, crushed red pepper, roasted red bell pepper, green onions, and salt. Add 8 cups of water, or enough water to cover all the ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until beans are soft, about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. If the liquid disappears during the cooking process, add additional water so that beans do not dry out.

Remove 1 cup of beans and transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Mash beans with a potato masher and return to the kettle. The last 45 minutes of cooking time for the beans, brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Turn sausages frequently, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Slice sausage into bite-size pieces and add the slices to the kettle so that they simmer 30 minutes with the vegetables.

For the rice:

3 ⅓ cups water

1 tablespoon butter

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups uncooked rice.

In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add butter and salt. Stir in rice. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let stand covered for 5 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Serve red beans over rice.

Tips on selecting andouille sausage: Select andouille sausage that is made of pork shoulder, has visible chunks of pork meat, a strong, smoky flavor, no fillers, and a nice balance of Creole spices like paprika, crushed red pepper, and garlic. While most andouille sausage is smoked, traditional Cajun andouille sausage is often smoked twice. If you can find sausage that is smoked twice, it is absolutely delicious.

Tips on storing andouille sausage: When packed in a vacuum-sealed package, andouille sausage will keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.

Carol Ann

Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market, and international Amazon best-selling and award-winning author of Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.

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