Jazzed up red beans and rice: enjoy an up-tempo version of a Southern speciality - includes recipes - Recipe Redux

Vegetarian Times, June, 1996 by Jane Weston Wilson

Open any Southern cookbook and you'll find a recipe for red beans and rice. It originated in New Orleans, but it is part of all traditional Southern cooking, a down-home-in-Dixie dish if ever there was one.

It seems everybody has a story about making it. The one people tell most is how red beans and rice were always cooked while the Monday wash was drying, because the dish took about the same time to cook as it did to dry the wash. It is also likely that the dish was prepared on Mondays, because there was always a ham bone or ham hock left over from Sunday dinner.

In making this recipe vegetarian, the beans, seasonings and vegetables remain. What you don't have is the ham hock's fat and cholesterol, and we have replaced white rice with fiber-rich brown rice. The flavor that leaves the dish with the ham hock can be replaced by roasting the peppers and garlic. Sun-dried tomatoes add hearty texture as well.

I first began experimenting with this recipe when I was visiting a friend on Cape Cod, Mass. "Oh, we'll have some friends in to share it, " she said. I found that it makes a great party dish, as it can go from stovetop to tabletop in a colorful 6-quart casserole.

I used long-grain brown rice into which I poured boiling water (in a 2-to-1 ratio), then I baked it in the oven, so each grain remained separated. The rice comes to the table in a separate bowl mixed with chopped parsley. Garnishes of scallions and chopped red bell pepper are served in small bowls.

This handsome meal was served with sweet potato soup with fresh lime juice and a crisp, refreshing cole slaw. For dessert? Poached pears. Their sweet-tart flavor nicely complements the spice of the beans.

If you still miss the smoked flavor of a ham hock in die dish, try adding a drop or two of liquid Smoke, a commercially bottled hickory flavoring available at supermarkets; it is both vegetarian and fat-free. At the table, top the beans and rice if desired, with your favorite hot sauce. Then you're set for a Monday supper that not even laundry chores can dampen!

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice After Redux

Beans: d2 cups dried kidney beans 6 cups water 1 bay leaf 2 Tbs. olive oil 2 tsp. dried thyme 1 large onion, peeled and diced 2 stalks celery, peeled and diced 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or 2

roasted cloves garlic (see note) 2 soaked or steamed sun-dried tomatoes,

chopped (see note) 1 freshly roasted red bell pepper or 1 bottled

roasted red bell pepper, chopped (see

note)

tsp. hot pepper sauce or crushed red pepper 16-oz. can whole tomatoes with

juice, roughly chopped Salt and pepper to taste 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut

diagonally into 1/2-inch slices 1 medium red bell pepper, cored,

seeded and diced

Rice: 2 cups long-grain brown rice 31/2 cups water 2 unpeeled cloves garlic, smashed 1 tsp. thyme 1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley,

washed and finely chopped

BEANS: In a large bowl, soak beans in water to cover 4 hours or preferably overnight. Pour off soaking water; rinse beans thoroughly.

Place beans in 6-quart lidded casserole. Add water; bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim any impurities from top. Add bay leaf and continue cooking uncovered.

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add thyme and onion; saute until slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Add celery and garlic; cook 2 minutes more then add to beans. Add sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red pepper, and hot pepper sauce or red pepper flakes.

Place lid slightly ajar on casserole; reduce heat to simmer. Cook 30 minutes. Add canned tomatoes with juice; cook with lid ajar until beans are soft, about 45 minutes (stir frequently to prevent burning and add small amounts of water if necessary).

RICE: Preheat oven to 3 7 5 degrees. Rinse rice thoroughly; place in 4-quart ovenproof lidded pot. Boil water separately and pour over rice. Add garlic and thyme. Cover; bake until water is absorbed and grains separate, about 45 minutes. Remove from cooking pot to serving dish. Add salt, pepper and parsley; mix thoroughly, removing garlic if desired.

When beans are tender remove bay leaf, add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with scallions and red ben pepper. Serve beans with rice. Makes 6 servings.

NOTES: To roast garlic, preheat oven to 3SO degrees. Prick garlic bulb with fork and wrap in foil. Bake until cloves are soft, about 45 minutes. Cool; squeeze cloves out of skins.

To steam sun-dried tomatoes, place in sieve or bamboo steamer over boiling water until soft enough to chew.

To roast a pepper, hold over flame on gas stove. When all sides are scorched, remove from flame. Put in brown paper bag 20 minutes or until cool. Scrape off charred skin with fingers or a knife; remove seeds. If you do not have a gas stove, put peppers under oven broiler, turning until charred on all sides.

VARIATION: To make Red Beans and Rice in a hurry, use 2 15-oz. cans kidney beans that have been rinsed and drained.

Red Beans and Rice

The following are standard ingredients for red beans and rice that would serve 8.

1 ham bone or ham hock Y. cup bacon fat 1/2 lb. sausage 21/2 cups dried kidney beans 3 cloves garlic 1 large onion 2 stalks celery 1 green bell pepper 2 Tbs. tomato paste 1 bay leaf 11 1/2 tsp. thyme Hot pepper sauce or red pepper flakes to taste Salt and pepper to taste 3 Tbs. fresh parsley 2 cups uncooked rice