red beans and rice

My parents both grew up in the south, so not shockingly, I’ve had my share of red beans and rice over the years. As a kid, it was never my favorite, but as an adult, it brings me a tremendous amount of comfort and joy.

Some might balk at beans with no ham hock or andouille sausage, but I find, I can get the same smoky deliciousness without either. I don’t use vegan sausage here as a substitute, but it would certainly be a welcome addition. I think the most important bit to me though, is to get the freshest dry beans that you can get your hands on ( you know some of those bags have been sitting on the grocery store shelves for like ever, right?) The fresher bean, the more tender and buttery the final product will be.

There are a fair amount of ingredients in the recipe, but if you’ve got the time, it’s super simple. And the result? Maximum comfort.

Ingredients:

{ Beans }

• 1 lbs. red or kidney beans (dry, soaked overnight)

• 8 C. water (plus more if needed)

• 3 tsp. Better than Bouillon (vegan no chicken or no beef preferred)

• 2 bay leaves

• 4” - 6” dried kombu

• 1 C. yellow onion (finely diced)

• 1 C. green pepper (finely diced)

• 1 C. celery (finely diced)

• 1/4 C. olive oil (extra virgin)

• 2 T. butter

• 2 tsp. liquid smoke

• 2 tsp. Cajun spice mix (see recipe below)

• 1-2 tsp. salt (or to taste)

{ Cajun Spice Mix }

• 2 tsp. cayenne pepper (use one if you are sensitive to spice)

• 2 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 tsp. garlic powder

• 2 tsp. onion powder

• 2 tsp. smoked paprika

{ Rice }

• 1 C. Jasmine rice (soaked and rinsed)

• 2 C. water

• 1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

Prep:

• Pick through dried beans to remove any rocks or debris

• Soak in a large pot over night

• Drain and rinse beans

• Make spice mixture (you will have leftovers for more bean making)

• Finely dice onion, celery and green pepper (the trinity, y’all)

• Soak rice

Directions:

1. Heat a heavy bottom pot to medium-high heat. Once heated, add oil and let oil warm up.

2. Saute the trinity (onion, celery, and green pepper) for 5 minutes or until translucent (not really looking to brown).

3. Add in soaked beans, kombu and bay leaves- give a nice stir until all is well combined.

4. Pour in water and raise the heat to high to bring to a boil.

5. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat down to low or medium low to simmer.

6. Skim off any foam from the beans and discard.

7. Let beans cook uncovered for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

8. After beans have been cooking for at least an hour, add in bouillon, liquid smoke, and Cajun mix (2 tsp.). Continue to cook until beans start to become tender.

9. If you are going to make cornbread, this is a good time- see recipe here. Also a good time to cook rice (according to the package directions).

10. Once beans are tender, add butter and use a potato masher or the back of your spoon and mash 1/4 to 1/2 the beans in your pot. If the kombu hasn’t melted into the mixture, mash that as well.

11. Check for seasonings (here’s where you add more salt, pepper or cayenne if needed).

12. Stir beans and let the mashed mixture cook another couple of minutes until the flavor is where you want it.

13. Remove bay leaves before serving.

14. Add rice to a bowl and pour over hot red beans. I prefer to mix them together, but that’s up to you.

15. Serve with cornbread and hot sauce. Enjoy.

As always, I hope you try this recipe out. Have you veganized red beans and rice? If so, how do you make yours differently? - Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for taking the time-

Debbie