Tina's Red Beans and Rice
Tina's red beans and rice, made Lola's later way with diced smoked ham — the dish that turned a Sunday supper into ninety years of stories, and earned three thumbs up and a heart from every judge at the table.
Somewhere in the last few weeks, our kitchen turned into a judging kitchen. It started with a crock-pot gumbo and a panel of family judges, and it has not slowed down since. So when Tina announced red beans and rice for Sunday, nobody asked what was for supper. They asked what time the verdicts were.
Red beans and rice is a Louisiana dish, but it landed in familiar country here. Lola has cooked Appalachian soup beans all her life, and Scott grew up around Italian bean pots — different accents, same idea: beans, patience, and whatever flavor the house had on hand, served over something that stretches it to feed everybody at the table.
The ham in this pot carries a whole family history — Lola's original hock way, her later switch to ham, and a daughter and a son who each kept a different version. That story got its own telling this week in The Heart of It: Write It Down While They Are Still at Your Table. The short version for cooks: we made it Lola's later way, with diced smoked ham, and the recipe below is written exactly as we made it.
There was one near-disaster. Tina reached for the seasoning and nearly grabbed the Creole instead of the Cajun — caught herself with the bottle in her hand and a look on her face like a woman who had almost messed up the entire dish. She had not. But for one second the whole supper hung on a label, which is why it is in the notes below in writing. Scott's contribution, in his new official capacity as sous chef, was dicing the ham — a promotion he awarded himself and has not stopped mentioning.
The verdict, when it came, was unanimous: three thumbs up and a heart from every judge at the table — Tina, Scott, and Lola. And somewhere between the judging and the second helpings, Lola started remembering out loud, ninety years of Appalachia arriving at the table the way it always travels: across it, because a dish her daughter cooked opened the door.
The recipe is below, as we made it. Next in the spree, by popular demand and one husband's lobbying: jambalaya.
Tina's Red Beans and Rice
Tina's red beans and rice, made Lola's later way with diced smoked ham — the dish that turned a Sunday supper into ninety years of stories, and earned three thumbs up and a heart from every judge at the table.
As Tina made it
- Diced smoked ham (1 cup) in place of the ham hock — Lola's later way, the one Tina prefers; no greasy film on the pot.
- The cayenne stays in the cabinet. The warmth stays gentle, and nobody at our table missed the heat.
- Broth split: 4 cups low-sodium + 2 cups regular, for control of the salt.
- Beans soaked the full 8 hours.
- Andouille diced small — easier eating for Lola, and more sausage in every spoonful.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry red kidney beans
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ¾ cup diced onion
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1½ Tbsp minced garlic
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups regular chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 cup diced smoked ham
- 1 lb andouille sausage, diced small
- 6 cups cooked white rice, for serving
- Fresh herbs, to finish
Equipment
- Large heavy pot or Dutch oven
- Colander
Instructions
- Soak the beans in plenty of water for 8 hours, then drain and rinse.
- Warm the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
- Add the drained beans, both broths, the bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and Cajun seasoning. Hold the diced ham back for later. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer.
- Simmer 1½ to 2 hours, stirring now and then, until the beans are tender and the pot has turned creamy. For a thicker pot, mash a spoonful of beans against the side and stir them back in.
- Stir in the diced ham and the andouille and simmer 20 minutes more.
- Fish out the bay leaves. Serve over the hot rice and finish with fresh herbs.
Cook's notes
- Red beans improve overnight. Leftovers keep 4 days in the refrigerator and freeze well.
- Watch the seasoning bottle: Creole and Cajun are not the same thing, and Tina nearly grabbed the wrong one. (Caught in time.)
- Salt at the end, not the beginning — the ham and the sausage bring their own.
The verdict
- Tina — “This is very, very good. I’d make it exactly as it is again. It’s the Cajun version of our Appalachian soup beans.”
- Scott — “I’m glad you left the cayenne pepper out — this is the right amount of flavor without any of the heat. Perfect. Don’t change a thing.”
- Lola — “Yes, I would have this again. It’s really, really good.”
Nutrition
- Calories: 545 kcal (per serving, from the base recipe as published)
Adapted from Sara Welch — “Red Beans and Rice,” Dinner at the Zoo — made here as we made it, with our changes listed above.