One word…delicious. I actually made this recipe with dried red beans, however, cooking time was about five hours! As previously mentioned, sometimes the beans have been on the shelf awhile and require extra cooking time. I made a very time saving modification and used canned red beans, equally delicious. When using canned beans, it is best to drain and rinse as there is a HUGE amount of sodium in the liquid.
Most red beans and rice recipes add the rice right to the beans. I think it best to serve the beans over rice. I find that when the rice is added to the beans the rice absorbs all of the flavorful liquid, leftovers dry out. Make a double batch and freeze for later. Remember to label and date.
Make this with our without the sausage. There is quite a bit of ingredient used for seasoning. One of which is not on my pantry list, but will be going forward. It’s Liquid Smoke and I love it. This adds amazing smokey flavor to any dish. The beans are very hearty so you would not miss the sausage.
Here we go:
You will need a medium diced onion, and a small red, yellow, and green pepper, all diced. We’ve got a nice healthy start, don’t we? Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the veggies to the pot.
Add the sliced sausage and the sherry, simmer another 10-15 additional minutes.
2 cups (uncooked) brown or white rice, cooked according to package instructions (4 cups cooked)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small yellow pepper, seeded and diced
1 small green pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup celery and leaves, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small Serrano chili, seeded and minced
3 cups or more vegetable or chicken stock
2 15 ounce cans red beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 ounce can vegetarian refried beans
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons smoked or sweet paprika
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon molasses
12-16 ounce package cooked smokey or spicy sausage, cut into ¼” diagonal pieces
1 tablespoons sherry
1) Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Once oil is hot, add the red, yellow, and green peppers, onions, and celery. Cook for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and the Serrano chili, cook another minute.
2) Add the chicken stock, the red beans, and refried beans to the pot. Stir until the refried beans have dissolved in the liquid.
3) Add the liquid smoke through the molasses. Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, stir often.
4) Add the sausage and sherry, simmer another 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Makes about eight servings. Serve over ½ cup of rice.
*serve with hot sauce if you wish.
*for vegetarian, simply omit the sausage and use vegetable stock.
Enjoy!
Angie
Follow me on Twitter