FROM DEVON CARNEY, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, KANSAS CITY BALLET
“Having been born in New Orleans and spent so many years of my youth there I am profoundly grateful for all that the Crescent City and its people and culture gave me. There is a rich history in the Big Easy that stems from multiple cultural backgrounds in a melting pot of influences that is so reflected in its cuisine. I grew up with so many amazing unique things one of which was Red Beans and Rice. And after a long day of rehearsals in the ballet studio it was, and still is, one of my go-to comfort foods.”
SERVES:
6+
PREP TIME:
8 HRS+
TOTAL TIME:
14 HRS+
INGREDIENTS
4-6 finely minced garlic cloves
1 large finely chopped white sweet onion (approx. 2 cups)
1 large finely chopped green pepper (approx. 1 cup)
4-5 long finely chopped celery stalks (approx. 1 cup)
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1-2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce depending on your level of desired “heat” (this is very much a part of the New Orleans style)
3 small bay leaves
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (be careful not to overdo this one)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon raw sugar (I prefer turbinado but regular sugar will do)
2 ½ tablespoons corn oil
1 14-16 oz. can of crushed tomatoes (the finer the crushed the better)
1 or 2 small ham hocks, optional (I don’t use this but some New Orleans restaurants do)
1 pound smoked Andouille sausage cut into bite-size pieces (Kielbasa will do in a pinch as an alternative)
Cooked rice (preferably long-grain white rice)
4-6 good lengths of finely chopped scallions as optional garnish at the end
Place the beans and ham hocks (optional) in a bowl or the pot they will cook in the next day which is large enough to accommodate and add water, then cover. It should be a few inches above the beans. Let sit for about 8-12 hours.
Drain and keep the water for later use. Put the beans and ham hocks (optional) in a 4 ½ - 6-quart pot. Add the saved soaking water and additional water to make about eight cups. Bring to boil and cook at reduced heat, uncovered, for a minimum of two hours, stirring occasionally from the bottom. At this point, the beans may not yet be soft enough to eat but don’t worry the next part will get them there.
While the beans are cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet and add only the celery, green peppers, onions, and garlic. Cook, stirring until everything is relatively soft, and the onions have begun to break down. Add all of this to the pot of beans that have already cooked for a minimum of 2 hours. Now add the remaining ingredients which are the crushed tomatoes, parsley, Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, thyme, sugar, salt & pepper. (Hold off on the Scallions which are an optional final touch garnish.)
At this point take the large skillet used earlier to cook the vegetables, and use it to cook the bite-size pieces of andouille sausage until lightly browned on both sides of each piece. Once cooked, add the sausage to the pot of beans. Cook, at minimum, for an additional hour, all the while stirring occasionally from the bottom.
Then remove about 1 & 1/2 cups of the beans and their liquid (be careful to not get a stray bay leaf in this) and put this in a food processor in order to make a puréed almost paste-like thick soup mix. Add this back to the pot of cooking beans to bring a thickness to the overall mixture. Allow at least an additional ½ hour of final low heat cooking. If the beans are not yet soft enough to your liking, cook for an additional ½ to 1 hour. Now remove the bay leaves.
Lay a bed of rice on a plate with raised edges. Ladle 2 to 3 large scoops of beans on top of the rice. Garnish with the scallions (optional) and serve with a bottle of ketchup and Tabasco sauce at the ready for additional flavoring, according to taste. Personally I usually add a light drizzle of the ketchup and a few random drops of Tabasco.
“Laissez les bon temps rouler (pronounced “Lay-say le bon tom roo-lay”) in Cajun French means: “let the good times roll.””
