Vegan Red Beans & Rice

This is my attempt at capturing the essence of New Orleans-style red beans and rice, but without the meat that usually accompanies beans here.

Ingredients

• 1 lb red kidney beans
• 6 quarts of water (3 for soaking, 3 for cooking)
• 5 cloves of garlic or so
• 1 large onion
• 1 large sweet pepper
• 3 or 4 ribs of celery
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 2 t salt
• 1 t thyme
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/4 t cumin
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 t liquid smoke *
• 1 T red wine vinegar *

Instructions

Sort, rinse, and soak the beans overnight in half the water. Drain and re-rinse them, put them in the remaining clean water, and bring them to a boil. Be sure to stir them very frequently, or they’ll stick and burn. If the top foams up, you can scoop the foam off and discard it.

Meanwhile, crush the garlic and very finely chop the onion, pepper, and celery. When the beans have been boiling for about an hour, add all those things. Let the pot return to a boil, then reduce the heat and add all the remaining ingredients except the vinegar. The measurements of the seasonings are approximate, so you should add them gradually, and according to your own taste.

Simmer, again stirring very frequently, until the beans reach a thick, creamy consistency. The green of the celery and sweet pepper will gradually become more subdued, and the whole mixture will eventually be a light brown. If the mixture starts getting too thick before it turns creamy enough, stir in some more water, a little bit at a time. Add the vinegar a few minutes before turning off the heat.

I like to serve them over brown rice. A good serving proportion is one scoop of rice covered in a scoop and a half of beans. (If you can handle such precise measurements.)

Don’t eat the bay leaves.

* The liquid smoke emulates the smoky flavor of the sausage that is normally included in red beans. Be careful: a little goes a long way. The vinegar replaces the "pickle meat" (another common ingredient in New Orleans red beans), which, as far as I can tell, has no flavor besides what is obtainable from vinegar.

Copying

Copyright © 2006 Thomas Peri

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