Servings: 6-8
Hardware: A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a large soup pot with a lid, a wooden spoon, a potato masher
Time: Soak: 8-24 hours, prep: 20 minutes, cook 2-3 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 pound bag of red beans, soaked and drained
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 3-4 pieces of cheap bacon
- ½ pound cooked ham
- ½ pound smoked sausage
- 1 large onion (1 cup)
- 1 small bell pepper (½ cup)
- 2 stalks of celery
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
- 2 ½ quarts chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning (I use Zatarain’s)
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leafs
Diced green onions and hot sauce
- Pick over the beans and place them in a large soup pot. Cover them in cold water, place a lid on the pot, and soak them for at least 8 hours or over night. Drain the beans and discard the soak water. Set the beans aside.
- Wash the onion, celery, and garlic and dice them, the smaller the better. Remove the seeds and white ribs from the bell pepper. Dice it. Wash and chop the parsley.
- Dice the ham into small pieces.
- Cut the smoked sausage into 1 inch pieces then cut them in half length wise.
- Heat the olive oil in the soup pot on medium high.
- Chop the bacon. Add the chopped bacon to the soup pot to render the fat. Remove when the bacon gets crispy and save it for another dish.
- Add the ham and the sausage to the fat in the soup pot and allow it to sear, stirring often for 2-4 minutes.
- Add the onion, garlic, celery, green pepper, and parsley to the soup pot. Turn the heat down to medium.
- Stir and allow the onions, etc to sweat for 4-5 minutes. The onions should be bubbling, but not browning. Stir occasionally.
- Stir in the beans and the liquid and bring to a boil.
- Stir in the Creole seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Add the bay leafs.
- Turn the beans to low. Simmer the beans, uncovered, for 2-2 ½ hours or until they are tender. Stir occasionally. You may need to add more liquid while cooking.
- When the beans are tender use the potato masher to mash up some of them. Stir them and continue to cook until they are creamy, about another ½ hour.
- Remove the bay leafs.
Warms your tummy and your heart |
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