Red Beans with Rice
Simply Delicious and Ready for Their Close-up
By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press
I had the simple combination of beans with rice for the first time at this funky little restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan called La Caridad 78. It sold Chinese-Cuban food, so the menu was split in half, with each part focused on one cuisine or the other.
La Caridad 78, now closed, was a local institution. Its food was nothing fancy, but it was dependable and their portions were huge. Their beans and rice were an entry level version of the dish: not much spice, just a hefty scoop or two of soupy kidney beans atop a mountain of nothing-fancy yellow rice. I was struck by how easily something I had always seen as a side dish could serve as an entrée. Fast and tasty, with no meat hogging the spotlight.
Over the years I’ve come to appreciate the endless variety that can spring from that deceptively simple combination. Cajun red beans, Cuban black beans, Southern black-eyed peas, Jamaican pigeon peas, curried lentils, Korean sweet black beans, Middle Eastern chickpeas… across boundaries and cultures, rice and beans in the universal comfort food.
Here’s a recipe for Red Beans in the Latin tradition, from “Harlem Really Cooks: The Nouvelle Soul Food of Harlem” by Sandra Lawrence, published by Lake Isle Press. Sandra attributes the recipe to her friend Christina Figueras Colon, whom she describes as “the daughter I never had and the cook that I would love to be.” Not a bad endorsement.
It’s an easy recipe to follow, and the flavorful result packs a steady touch of heat. As Sandra suggests, I added sofrito to my rice (one tablespoon per cup, but you might add more) for extra flavor.
When you need a quick meal, a can of beans with a few veggies and some spices served over rice makes for an easy option. When you’ve got a little extra time, though, cooking beans from scratch makes them a little extra creamy and flavorful, and carries with it a little rush of abundance. Whether you start them off with an overnight or a quick soak, a pot of beans simmering on the stove has the power to satisfy you, body and soul.
Red Beans
Click here for printable recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound dried kidney beans
1 ham hock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Serves 6
PREPARATION
Rinse the beans, and soak in 4 cups cold water overnight.
Put the ham hock in a large pot with enough water to cover and simmer until soft, about 2 hours. Remove the ham from the liquid, reserving both the ham hock and the liquid.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, and sauté the onion, green pepper, and garlic until semi-opaque but not too soft, about 5 minutes.
Drain and rinse the soaked beans, and place them in a 6-quart pot. Add 4 cups of the liquid from the ham hock. Add the sautéed onion, green pepper, and garlic to the pot, along with the bay leaf, thyme, cumin, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper, and sugar. Bring to a boil, and immediately lower to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour. Cut the meat from the ham hock and add to the pot, and allow to cook for another 30 minutes.
Serve with rice.
VARIATION:
Instead of the ham hock, use 1 tablespoon corn oil and a few dashes of Liquid Smoke. For the ham hock liquid, use 4 cups water and a little Liquid Smoke.
Recipe from “Harlem Really Cooks: the Nouvelle Soul Food of Harlem” by Sandra Lawrence, Lake Isle Press, 2006
Red Beans Recipe
from “Harlem Really Cooks: the Nouvelle Soul Food of Harlem”
By Sandra Lawrence
With ”Harlem Really Cooks,” author Sandra Lawrence offers a fresh take on traditional southern-style soul food. Chapters are arranged by the season, with a menu for every occasion, from a Sunday pot roast dinner to a Kwanzaa celebration. Or the homecoming meal Sandra would prepare for her niece when she visited home during college breaks, featuring Chicken Dzifa, Jamaican Peas and Rice, Tossed Iceberg Lettuce Salad with Vinaigrette, and a Mango Upside-Down Cake.
More than simply a collection of recipes, Harlem Really Cooks is also a portrait of Harlem, seen through the eyes of a life-long resident. Illustrations by renowned artist Benny Andrews.
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Red Beans With Rice | Dara O’Brien