Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 lb. dried red beans
1/2 lb bacon or ham fat
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. summer savory
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. Tabasco
1 Tbs. chopped green onion tops
2 Tbs. chopped parsley
Salt
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Directions: |
Directions:Sort through the beans and pick out any bad or misshappen ones. Soak the beans in cold water overnight. When ready to cook, pour off the soaking water. In a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven, fry the bacon or ham fat till crisp. Remove the bacon or ham fat and set aside for garnish (or a snack while you cook). In the hot fat, saute the bell pepper, onion, celery, and garlic until it just begins to brown. Add the beans and a gallon of water. Bring to a light boil, then lower to a simmer. While waiting, add the bay leaf, savory, black pepper, and Tabasco. Simmer the beans two hours. Stir the pot two or three times per hour. After about 90 minutes, smash about one kitchen spoonful of beans and stir them in into the remainder. Smash more of them if you like your beans extra creamy. Add a little water if the sauce gets too thick. Add salt and more Tabasco to taste. Serve the beans over rice cooked firm. Garnish with chopped green onions and parsley.
The Ultimate:
Grill or fry smoked sausagekinless hot sausage and deposit it atop the beans. Red beans seem to have a limitless tolerance for added fat.
Heathy Alternative:
Leave the pork and ham out of the recipe completely, and begin by sauteing the vegetables other than the beans in 1/4 cup of olive oil. At the table, pour extra-virgin olive oil over the beans. This may sound and look a bit odd, but the taste is terrific and everything in the plate--beans, rice, and olive-oi--is a proven cholesterol-lowerer |
This recipe for Red Beans and Rice is from