A one-pot hot meal for cold, wet winter days
I have a confession to make. I’ve never cooked dry beans before.
The process always seemed so foreign to me and so time-consuming
that I just avoided recipes that required the use of any type of
beans not from a can. But when the latest copy of
”
Something Extra
”
hit the Nob Hill checkout stand with some hearty Cajun recipes I
decided to try one out for red beans and rice.
A one-pot hot meal for cold, wet winter days
I have a confession to make. I’ve never cooked dry beans before. The process always seemed so foreign to me and so time-consuming that I just avoided recipes that required the use of any type of beans not from a can. But when the latest copy of “Something Extra” hit the Nob Hill checkout stand with some hearty Cajun recipes I decided to try one out for red beans and rice.
I’ve had the tasty dish before – a friend makes about the best version I’ve ever tasted – but even when he gave me a copy of his recipe it seemed like too much work. I’d heard that dry beans have to be hand sorted for rocks. Then they have to soak overnight. And then there was this thing called quick soak, but it still seemed like the recipe would take hours and hours to finish.
But on a recent Sunday afternoon, I decided to undertake the challenge. I learned a great secret about making a pot of beans. Sure it takes a lot of time, but there is very little work involved. Most of it involves tossing in a few ingredients every couple hours and then covering – and lots of waiting. It makes for a perfect meal for a weekend when there is nothing to do but hang around the house. And the plus of making a pot of beans from scratch is that after smelling it cook for hours, everyone is sure to be hungry by the time it is finished.
When it comes to quick soaking the beans, it speeds up the process and allows cooks to skip the overnight soak. Most packaged dry beans have instructions on the bag for how to quick-soak the beans. For this recipe, the beans are put into a pot of water and brought to a rapid boil. Once the water is boiling, the pot is covered and removed the heat. The beans soak for one hour and then the beans need to be rinsed. After that, it’s just a matter of chopping a few vegetables and shredding some meat off a cooked ham shank.
Enjoy
Cajun red beans and rice
Recipe courtesy of “Something Extra”
1 lb. dry red beans
1½ to 2 lbs. meaty ham shanks
4 to 4½ c. water
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1½ c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped green bell pepper
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Cajun or Creole seasoning, or to taste
Tabasco Sauce, salt and pepper to taste
Cooked white rice
Prep time: 20 minutes Soak time: 1 hour or overnight Cook time: 2 ½ to 3 hours (mostly unattended) Soak or quick soak beans according to package directions; drain well. Place beans, ham, water, garlic and onion in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1½ hours, or until beans are tender. Let cool slightly, then remove ham shank. Shred ham and add back to pot with celery, bell pepper, Worcestershire and seasoning; cover and cook for 1 hour more or until mixture is thickened. Season to taste with Tabasco Sauce, salt and pepper and serve over rice. Makes 8 servings.
