Monday Night Red Beans

Recipes

• 1 pound Camellia red beans, soaked
• 1 pound good 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
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• Pinch rubbed sage
• 3 bay leaves
• Crystal Hot Sauce
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, minced
• Cooked rice for serving

1. Heat oil in a large heavy pot. Brown the sausage, stirring frequently, to render as much fat as possible.
2. When well browned, remove sausage from the pot and drain on paper towels.
3. Add onions and season with lots of Tony’s, salt, and pepper.
4. Cook onions over medium heat, stirring frequently, until well browned.
5. Add garlic and cook 5 to 10 minutes; add celery and bell pepper and cook until translucent.
6. Drain water off the soaked red beans and add the beans to the pot. Cover with fresh water.
7. Rub the basil between the palms of your hands as you add it to the pot. Add sage and bay leaves.
8. Add sausage back to the pot and stir well.
9. Bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 1 to 1½ hours.
10. When beans are tender, mash some with a potato masher until the mixture looks creamy.
11. Stir in the chopped green onions and almost all of the parsley, reserving some parsley for diners to add at the table.
12. Season well with Crystal Hot Sauce.
13. Serve hot with cooked white rice, the extra parsley, and more hot sauce.