(PHOTO: Camelliabrand.com)
- Generations of Cajuns were raised eating red beans on Mondays. It was a dish born of necessity, as Mondays were traditionally wash days.
After working all day, there’s nothing like the comfort of simmering red beans served over a bed of fluffy white rice. Add a sprinkle of green onion and parsley, and a budget-friendly serving of red beans and rice will make you feel like a king.
Generations of Cajuns were raised eating red beans on Mondays. It was a dish born of necessity, as Mondays were traditionally wash days. Before automated washing machines, doing laundry was an all-day affair. Clothes were hand-washed, and hung on the line to dry, and that took both time and effort. It also took the cooks out of the kitchen. Yet mouths had to be fed, and the solution was a one-pot meal that didn’t require much effort.
Red beans and rice was an inexpensive dish that could be made with pantry staples – dried red beans and rice. It was a hearty dish that filled up hungry bellies, and the bonus was that it tasted so good no one minded eating it once a week.
Browned sausage, added to sweated onions, bell peppers, and spices formed the base. Beans which were soaked overnight were added to the pot along with plenty of water, and the beans were left to simmer on the stove. All that was required was a few stirs during the day. A simple pot of rice, some green onion and chopped parsley, and the dish was complete.
Once households became modernized, the all-day wash day became a thing of the past. But red beans and rice continued to be a weekly meal, and the tradition of serving it on Mondays has endured to this day. Not to say that’s the only day red beans and rice is made – most people will eat the dish any day of the week.
There are as many variations to the basic red beans and rice recipe as there are people who eat them. Some are very particular about the beans they use. In our home, it’s Camellia Beans all the way, just like my Louisiana-born-and-raised mama used. The brand of sausage is often a sticking point as well. Even the type of sausage is something many cooks are adamant about. Boudin. Pork. Turkey. Different strokes for different folks.
Some folks are picky about what restaurants serve the best red beans and rice. Some of the favorites include Parrain’s Jambalaya Kitchen in Biloxi, Crescent City Grill in Hattiesburg, Breau Bridge in Meridian, and Hal & Mal’s in Jackson. For the more adventurous red beans and rice fans, a trip to Ajax Diner in Oxford is the place to find egg rolls made with red beans and rice filling with green onions and pepper jack cheese topped with spiced sour cream.
Red beans and rice are so popular, there is an annual festival in Jackson. The Red Beans and Rice and BBQ Festival presented by Bank Plus each fall is a fundraiser for Stewpot. It draws some fierce competitors who are there to vie for the best red beans and rice.
Making a big pot of red beans and rice is no doubt an efficient – and delicious – way to feed a crowd. Pableaux Johnson, a beloved food writer and photographer who lived in New Orleans, knew that, and he opened his home each Monday evening for friends to gather and enjoy his famous red beans and rice. Pableaux passed away recently doing what he loved, photographing Mardi Gras Indians during a parade. Friends around the country honored his memory with red bean suppers.
Deborah Binder wrote about Pableaux Johnson’s red beans and rice suppers in a recent article in My Edmonds News, out of Seattle, Washington. In her article, Binder included Pableuax’s time-honored recipe for red beans and rice.
Pableaux Johnson’s Monday Night Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients:
1 lb. red kidney beans (soaked)
1 lb. smoked sausage, preferably andouille, sliced into coins
3 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning (or any other brand of Creole seasoning)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon dried basil
Pinch-rubbed sage
3 bay leaves
Crystal Hot Sauce (or another brand of your choice)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, minced
Cooked rice for serving
Instructions:
Heat oil in a large heavy pot. Brown the sausage, stirring frequently to render as much fat as possible. When well browned, remove the sausage from the pot and drain the fat on paper towels. Add onions to the pot and season with lots of Tony’s Creole seasoning, salt and pepper.
Cook onions over medium heat, stirring frequently until well browned. Add garlic and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and bell pepper and cook until they’re translucent.
Drain water off the soaked red beans, and add the beans to the pot. Cover with fresh water. Rub the basil between the palms of your hands as you add it to the pot. Add sage and bay leaves. Add sausage back to the pot and stir well.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until beans are tender. Cook for about 1 to 1.5 hours. When the beans are tender, mash some with a potato masher until the mixture looks creamy.
Stir in the chopped green onions and most of the parsley, reserving some parsley for diners to add at the table. Season well with Crystal Hot Sauce.
Serve hot with cooked white rice, extra parsley, and more hot sauce.
Susan Marquez
