Hello, DVXuser community!
Since fall has set in nicely (it's beautiful in East Tennessee right now), and it is now perfect weather for soups and stews, I thought I'd share with you folks one of my favorite past-times - cooking - in the form of my recipe for red beans and rice. This is not your traditional Gulf Coast recipe... I have made my own spin into a tasty red bean stew. I'm all about color and lots of flavor.
Now, this is a guesstimate. It's a secret recipe. So secret, in fact, that it's never the same twice. I have a pot simmering in the office kitchen right now (lunch for a staff meeting tomorrow), and I wrote down everything I did today in an effort to share. This recipe can feed an army... or at least a family of five - for a week. Please enjoy.
Three 40.5oz cans of kidney beans, drained (I like the dark red beans for color)
Two 28oz cans of diced tomatoes, drained
One 14oz pack of smoked turkey sausage (Butterball), diced
8oz country ham, the ham pieces packaged for soup/stew seasoning
4c cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine (chardonnay is best)
4 celery stalks, washed, diced fine
1 medium sweet onion, diced fine
1 medium green bell pepper, cleaned, seeds removed, diced fine
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
2 or 3 bay leaves
4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme, stems and all
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne red pepper
1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
Kosher salt to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
In a 6 quart stock pot, toss in the ham pieces over medium to medium-high heat and render out (start them in a cold pot). Remove the ham, leave the drippings. Toss in the diced turkey sausage and sear until the edges start to brown. Remove the turkey sausage.
Add the olive oil. Toss in the celery, onion, garlic, and green bell pepper and sweat them out until the onions are translucent and the celery is tender. In the mean time, take the ham pieces and chop them into smaller pieces if necessary.
Add in the kidney beans, the tomatoes, the chicken stock, the wine, the meat, and all the herbs/spices (except for the salt). Bring to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Salt to taste. You can also add a splash of hot sauce (I use Texas Pete) if you like.
Serve over rice. I recommend either basmati rice or jasmine (Thai aromatic) rice.
Cornbread and beer round out the meal quite well.
For vegetarians, start with the olive oil (4 tbsp since there are no meat renderings) and the aromatics (garlic, onion, celery, bell pepper). Skip the meat, and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
Hope you folks can make use of this! Adjust all the herbs and spices as desired. Again, I go totally by sight, smell, and taste, and rarely actually measure anything.
NOTE: Be sure to remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs before serving. It's even better if you make it the day before and let it chill in the fridge overnight.
Since fall has set in nicely (it's beautiful in East Tennessee right now), and it is now perfect weather for soups and stews, I thought I'd share with you folks one of my favorite past-times - cooking - in the form of my recipe for red beans and rice. This is not your traditional Gulf Coast recipe... I have made my own spin into a tasty red bean stew. I'm all about color and lots of flavor.
Now, this is a guesstimate. It's a secret recipe. So secret, in fact, that it's never the same twice. I have a pot simmering in the office kitchen right now (lunch for a staff meeting tomorrow), and I wrote down everything I did today in an effort to share. This recipe can feed an army... or at least a family of five - for a week. Please enjoy.
Three 40.5oz cans of kidney beans, drained (I like the dark red beans for color)
Two 28oz cans of diced tomatoes, drained
One 14oz pack of smoked turkey sausage (Butterball), diced
8oz country ham, the ham pieces packaged for soup/stew seasoning
4c cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine (chardonnay is best)
4 celery stalks, washed, diced fine
1 medium sweet onion, diced fine
1 medium green bell pepper, cleaned, seeds removed, diced fine
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
2 or 3 bay leaves
4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme, stems and all
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne red pepper
1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
Kosher salt to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
In a 6 quart stock pot, toss in the ham pieces over medium to medium-high heat and render out (start them in a cold pot). Remove the ham, leave the drippings. Toss in the diced turkey sausage and sear until the edges start to brown. Remove the turkey sausage.
Add the olive oil. Toss in the celery, onion, garlic, and green bell pepper and sweat them out until the onions are translucent and the celery is tender. In the mean time, take the ham pieces and chop them into smaller pieces if necessary.
Add in the kidney beans, the tomatoes, the chicken stock, the wine, the meat, and all the herbs/spices (except for the salt). Bring to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Salt to taste. You can also add a splash of hot sauce (I use Texas Pete) if you like.
Serve over rice. I recommend either basmati rice or jasmine (Thai aromatic) rice.
Cornbread and beer round out the meal quite well.
For vegetarians, start with the olive oil (4 tbsp since there are no meat renderings) and the aromatics (garlic, onion, celery, bell pepper). Skip the meat, and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
Hope you folks can make use of this! Adjust all the herbs and spices as desired. Again, I go totally by sight, smell, and taste, and rarely actually measure anything.
NOTE: Be sure to remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs before serving. It's even better if you make it the day before and let it chill in the fridge overnight.
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