Mom's Red Beans & Rice
Originally from a cooking class we attended as a family for Tommy’s 30th birthday, Mom (Grandma Susan) has since modified the recipe after a lot of experimentation.
Ingredients:
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 4 stalks green onions—white parts diced, green parts finely chopped
- 1 lb. kidney beans (Camellia brand is best)
- 1 lb. diced ham or a ham hock
- ¼ c. parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ t. salt
- 10 c. water
- Cajun spices to taste (Slap Ya Mama, Tony Chachere’s)
- Hot sauce to taste (Traditionally this would be Crystal Hot Sauce)
- 1 lb. andouille or tasso sausage
Garnish:
- Finely chopped parsley
- Chopped chives
Instructions:
Sauté chopped onion, bell pepper, celery and green onion bottoms until the onions begin to caramelize. Add the minced garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add rest of ingredients except for the sausage, salt, and garnish.
Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Slow cook, covered for at least 3 hours.
Stir occasionally to prevent sticking on the bottom. Cook until beans are VERY soft and creamy. To get creamier results, remove 1/3 of beans and puree, then return to pot.
While beans boil, sauté andouille sausage in a separate pan and set aside.
When beans are soft and creamy, add the finely chopped green onion tops and cook 20 more minutes. Add salt to taste.
Add the andouille sausage right before serving. Serve over white rice. Garnish with reserved parsley and chopped chives.