Red Beans, New Orleans Style

As the global meltdown continues, I find myself considering meals based on long storage duration dry goods. Legumes, beans and the like.

Between my pantry, and my spice rack, the inspiration struck for a Louisiana classic dish.

I’ve gone meat heavy on this, but one can take this vegetarian buy swapping the various meats for plant based substitutes and replacing the chicken stock with veggie.

From Wikipedia:

Red beans and rice is an emblematic dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine (not originally of Cajun cuisine) traditionally made on Mondays with red beans,[ vegetables (bell pepper, onion, and celery), spices (thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf) and pork bones as left over from Sunday dinner, cooked together slowly in a pot and served over rice. Meats such as ham, sausage (most commonly andouille and Chorizo), and tasso ham are also frequently used in the dish. The dish is customary – ham was traditionally a Sunday meal and Monday was washday. A pot of beans could sit on the stove and simmer while the women were busy scrubbing clothes. The dish is now fairly common throughout the Southeast. .

Red beans and rice is one of the few New Orleans style dishes to be commonly served both in people’s homes and in restaurants. Many neighborhood restaurants and even schools continue to serve it as a Monday lunch or dinner special, usually with a side order of cornbread and either smoked sausage or a pork chop. While Monday washdays are largely a thing of the past, red beans remain a staple for large gatherings such as Super Bowl and Mardi Gras parties. Indeed, red beans and rice is very much part of the New Orleans identity.

The vegetarian dish Rajma chawal is very similar (which translates literally to red beans and rice), popular in North India. Red beans and rice is also a dietary staple in Central America, where it is known as “arroz con habichuelas”. The dish is popular in Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Haitian and Jamaican cuisine as well.

Red Beans

A New Orleans classic, updated to use instapot, with the RogueChef Twist.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine Cajun, Creole

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 163 kcal

Equipment

• InstaPot

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 ea Chicken Thighs Skinless, boneless, chunked to 1"
• 1 ea Pork Chop Loin Cut, well marbled, chunked to 1"
• 1 ea Andouille Sausage Sliced to 1/4"
• 6 ea Shrimp Jumbo (12-16) Deveined / Shell off
• 1 ea Green Bell Pepper Seeded, Diced to 1/2"
• 2 Stalks Celery Sliced to 1/4"
• 1 Ea Large Sweet Onion Diced
• 2 cloves Garlic minced
• 1 lb Red Beans Dried, not soaked
• 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning See notes
• 2 ea Bay Leaves
• 1 tsp Basil dried
• 1/2 tsp Sage dried
• 1 tsp Oregano dried
• 4 cups Chicken Stock Low sodium

Instructions

 

• Set instapot to high saute
• add 1 tbsp neutral oil
• add chicken and cook until browned, remove
• repeat with pork chop, sausage
• Add veggies and seasonings, saute until tender and starting to take color
• Exit saute, add stock and scrape bottom of pot to deglaze fond
• Add meats, not the shrimp and beans
• Set manual, high pressure, time for 45 minutes, lid up
• after cooking is complete, use natural release for 20 minutes
• Manual release of any remaining pressure,
• Add the shrimp and bring to a simmer until cooked, 3-5 minutes
• Server over rice, with hot sauce, diced onion, corn bread, and seasoning to the side

Notes

I use Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, but a quick and dirty home made is 

1 tbsp Garlic Powder

1 tbsp Onion Powder

1 tbsp Oregano

1 tbsp Basil

1/2 tbsp thyme

1/2 tbsp black powder

1/2 tbsp cayenne

2 tbsp paprika ( I use hot)

1 tbsp Kosher salt

Add all to a spice grinder, whiz it up, and store in a airtight container.

 

Note there are subtle differences to Cajun / Creole cooking, but in this case we have something that has crossed the cultural barrier(s).

Nutrition

Calories: 163kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 11gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 251mgPotassium: 523mgFiber: 6gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 388IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 3mg

Keyword Beans, Cajun, Rice Noodle

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