The traditional Monday meal in New Orleans is red beans and rice. That’s because back in the days before washing machines and hot water tanks, Monday was laundry day and the water for such had to be heated over an outdoor fire. Doing the laundry was an all-day process and if you’ve got to be outside all day tending the fire, you might as well get dinner done at the same time. Typically, dried red beans are added to the Cajun Trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) and simmered all day.
My concept for this soup was to reference the great flavours of the traditional time-consuming dish but with more veggies and in under an hour. Mission accomplished.
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 large onion – diced 1 green bell pepper – diced 2 stalks celery – diced 2 cloves garlic – very finely chopped or crushed 8 ounces smoked ham – cubed to ½” 19 ounce can red kidney beans – rinsed and drained 3 cups chicken stock 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon dried oregano ¼ teaspoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon ground coriander ¼ teaspoon paprika ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Preparation:
Place a suitable pot on medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic, stirring occasionally for five minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer partially covered for ten minutes. Depending on the stock you use, you may wish to add more salt.
Remove the bay leaves and serve.