18:38
- Being in the thick of winter calls for one thing, and that is pure comfort food. And if you've spent any time in Louisiana, you know that red beans and rice is one such dish that just hits the spot. It's a Southern food classic just like my jambalaya recipe, which I have a separate video for, but red beans and rice is all about creamy, slow-simmered beans with smoky Andouille sausage. And I, for one, love anything with Andouille sausage. This recipe is cozy, hearty, and the kind of meal that's perfect for a night in with the family. So let me show you how to make it. To get started, you'll need to soak one pound of red beans overnight.
Traditionally, small red beans often from the brand Camellia are used, and those are the ones on the right side here. But kidney beans on the left side are a perfect substitute, and what I use most often. I do think the texture is best with soaked beans rather than canned beans. But if you're in a pinch and really wanna make this recipe, I do list the substitute measurement for canned beans on my website. Now, even though this recipe is called red beans and rice, it's really red beans, Andouille sausage, and rice because there's so much delicious sausage in it. So thinly slice a pound of Andouille sausage. And I like to slice it on a bit of a diagonal
as it just looks pretty, but straight across is fine as well. And once that's done, just place it in a prep bowl off to the side. Next, you'll chop up the holy trinity of vegetables, which is yellow onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Similar to a mirepoix mix of veggies that provides a flavor base to soups and stews, this holy trinity vegetable mix is essential in Cajun dishes like gumbo, my jambalaya recipe, and this red beans and rice. It's aromatic, adds depth, and gives a bit of sweetness that balances out the spicier flavors. And because the three veggies will get added to the pot at the same time,
you can go ahead and chop them up, then add them to one prep bowl. All right, let's get to cooking. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced sausage and sear it for four to six minutes on each side or until it's nice and browned. You'll have to work in batches here so that you don't crowd the pot because you really want each piece of sausage to have good contact with the pot in order to get that beautiful browned color. So once the sausage has that color, use tongs to flip the pieces over and then brown the other side. Then remove those pieces to a plate and repeat this process until all of your sausage has been browned.
And if you see some dark bits forming on the bottom of the pot, don't worry as that's delicious flavor that will soak up here in a second. (gentle music) Leave any extra grease in the pot from browning the sausage and then dump in your bowl of onion, bell pepper, and celery.
Saute these veggies for about eight to 10 minutes until the onions are beginning to caramelize and brown. This is a bit longer than we'd normally saute with mirepoix veggies, but that extra caramelization is one more thing that makes this dish taste so darn good. And if you notice, the moisture that's released from the veggies helps to deglaze the pot naturally so that you don't have any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot anymore. Add four minced garlic cloves to the pot, two teaspoons of Cajun seasoning, and I'm using my homemade version, one teaspoon of dried oregano, one teaspoon of dried thyme, one teaspoon of kosher salt, and half a teaspoon of black pepper.
Then stir that for another minute or so. Add the sausage back to the pot along with the one pound of beans that you've soaked, drained, and rinsed. Then pour in six cups of low sodium chicken broth, or you could do what I always do, which is pour in four cups of broth and two cups of water so that I don't have to open a new carton of broth. Lastly, add two bay leaves, then stir to combine it altogether, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Once it's simmering, cover the pot and cook it for one hour, stirring it occasionally. After an hour, remove the lid and continue cooking for another 30 minutes until the beans are tender and some of the liquid has evaporated
and the dish has reduced to your desired thickness. At this point, you can also use your spoon to smash some of the beans against the side of the pot. This thickens the liquid a bit further and gives it that creamier texture. The finishing touch is adding two green onions that you've sliced up and 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley. And just stir those in for beautiful flecks of green, and you are pretty much done. Now, I'm not gonna show you how to cook the rice today, as I'm sure most of you know how to do that, but if not, I do have a separate recipe and video for cooking rice. But you can easily cook some of your favorite rice
while the beans are simmering because you do have plenty of time. To combine everything together, I love to add a few generous spoonfuls of rice to a bowl. Then top it with a few ladles of the red beans and Andouille sausage. This is one of those meals that just bursts with delicious Cajun flavor, and I love that there's lots of fiber and protein to keep me full. And while the recipe is traditionally served over rice, I won't tell anyone if you'd like to top it on mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes, which is what I personally love to do. But right now, I can't wait to take my bite of this cozy and warming meal. And while it may look a bit sunny in my kitchen today, it's actually quite cool outside.
And this is the perfect antidote to a cold wintry day. There's just something about the creaminess of the white beans, the spiciness of the Andouille sausage. And again, you can choose as spicy or not spicy as you'd like on the sausage, there's a hint of heat from the Cajun spice that I added, but it's not too hot. This is not an overly hot, spicy recipe, just really flavorful and savory. But you can always tone down the spice if you'd like or kick it up a notch and even add a little bit more cayenne pepper. I just think that the spice level is perfect for a month like February or March when it's still cold outside. And of course, this is a perfect recipe leading up to Mardi Gras, and for Mardi Gras, and it pairs beautifully with all of the other Cajun
and Mardi Gras appropriate recipes that I have on my website like jambalaya, Cajun shrimp, my creamy Cajun chicken. And I have a sheet pan Cajun recipe as well with Andouille sausage, my favorite, and a whole bunch of vegetables. And side note, if you wanna keep the Southern themes going, especially New Orleans and Mardi Gras, I do have a recipe for Bananas Foster on my website as well that is so good. It is one of my favorite dessert recipes. If you happen to have any leftovers of this, it will keep for about four to five days in the fridge or up to three months in a storage container. And I always love freezing this
and then enjoying it like a month or two later when I don't want to cook. It's a perfect dinner that way. I hope you guys enjoyed today's video for red beans and rice, and I would love to hear from you what you are currently eating to stay warm and cozy during the cold weather. All right, I will see you guys in the next video. (gentle music)
