experiencelifemag.com Print › | Back › Red Beans and Rice Serves six October 2009 2 onions diced 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced 1 stalk celery, diced 2 tbs. rendered bacon fat 1 pound dried kidney beans 2 smoked ham hocks 3 bay leaves 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 3 green onions, chopped Salt Freshly ground black pepper Tabasco 3 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice Sweat the onions, bell peppers and celery in the rendered bacon fat in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Once the onions become translucent, add the kidney beans, ham hocks, bay leaves and cayenne, then add water to cover by 2 inches. Increase the heat and bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and allow the beans to simmer for two hours. Periodically stir the beans to make sure that they don’t scorch on the bottom of the pot, adding water if necessary, always keeping the beans covered by an inch or more of water. Continue cooking the beans until they are creamy and beginning to fall apart when they’re stirred. Remove the ham hock meat from the bones, roughly chop it, and add it back to the pot of beans. Stir in the green onions and season with salt, black pepper and Tabasco. Serve with white rice. Recipe excerpted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook by John Besh (Andrews McNeel Publishing, 2009).

Red Beans and Rice

Serves six

• 2 onions diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 tbs. rendered bacon fat
• 1 pound dried kidney beans
• 2 smoked ham hocks
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 3 green onions, chopped
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Tabasco
• 3 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice

Sweat the onions, bell peppers and celery in the rendered bacon fat in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat.

Once the onions become translucent, add the kidney beans, ham hocks, bay leaves and cayenne, then add water to cover by 2 inches.

Increase the heat and bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and allow the beans to simmer for two hours. Periodically stir the beans to make sure that they don’t scorch on the bottom of the pot, adding water if necessary, always keeping the beans covered by an inch or more of water.

Continue cooking the beans until they are creamy and beginning to fall apart when they’re stirred.

Remove the ham hock meat from the bones, roughly chop it, and add it back to the pot of beans.

Stir in the green onions and season with salt, black pepper and Tabasco. Serve with white rice.

Recipe excerpted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook by John Besh (Andrews McNeel Publishing, 2009).

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October 6, 2009

Jamie, EL Editor says:

Unfortunately, the cookbook that this recipe was excerpted from - My New Orleans: The Cookbook by John Besh - does not include nutritional information for the recipes. A good resource for helping you determine the nutritional value of this dish and others is NutritionData.com. Hope this helps!

October 4, 2009

Denise says:

I am wondering if you have the nutritional information for this recipe? I am keeping a journal with my calories and other nutritional information and need it. Thanks!