Red Beans & Rice
There are days when I just do not want to get dinner on the table. Today was one of those. It was 5pm and I needed a meal fast but this had lots of Veg in it. I cut everything in about 2 minutes flat with the mandoline. This Red Beans and Rice recipe was inspired by my inability to cut things and an old type written recipe I found in my recipe binder. It is fast, yummy and filling. You can substitute celery or carrots for the leeks and red, yellow or green peppers all work beautifully here. Adjust the spice or pass the hot sauce around the table. Serve it up with Pumpkin Cornbread or baked tortilla chips, salsa cruda, sour cream and lots of parsley or cilantro. You can add some chicken sausages for the meat eaters or veg sausages for the Veg Heads. Make a batch of Garlic Sautéed Kale to complete the meal.
Mandoline Slicing Magic
As a yoga teacher, when students are working with an injury I encourage them to find different ways to work around it so they can continue their practice. I often find they open up a whole new dimension to their practice when they have a part of the body that is not working well or sometimes, is not usable at all. However, when I have an injury it just annoys me, such is the case with cooking and a wrist injury. I have tried to be yogic about it, but have resorted to buying pre-cut vegetables, which just doesn’t work well for me. They are not organic, they are sometimes old and slimy and often I can’t find what I need. I am very dangerous when cutting with my left hand, so I had to take a yogic approach and come up with a solution that works around my wrist injury…..hence the mandoline…..love it. I can use it left handed or not to forcefully with my right hand. It cuts things uniformly and quickly. I have a cheap version but will definitely be on the hunt for a top of the line stainless piece of kitchen artwork soon.
Red Beans and Rice
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8 Servings
You can use canned beans for this, but pressure cooking them is fast, easy and makes it sooooo much better. Lots of veg can be modified here. Carrots, celery, leeks, red or white onions can all be added or substituted. Add a hot pepper for a little spice or omit. Add regular or Vegetarian sausages if you like. This makes a huge batch so modify as necessary.
Ingredients
- 1/2 llb (2 cups) dried Kidney Beans
- 1/2 llb (2cups) dries Pinto Beans
- 4-6 cups Veggie Broth
- 4 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 1 large Onion
- 2-3 Peppers, Red, Green, Yellow or combination
- 2 Leeks or 3 stalks Celery or combination
- 1 can diced Green Chilis (optional)
- 1 Hot Pepper, Serrano, Jalapeno, etc. (optional)
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 box chopped Tomatoes or 2 cups diced fresh Tomatoes
- 1/2- 1 tsp ground Cumin
- 1/2-1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/2-1 tsp Oregano
- 2 Tbsp Vinegar, Sherry, Balsamic of Apple Cider all work
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- Smoked Sea Salt & Black Pepper
- handful chopped Parsley + extra to serve
- Cooked Rice
Instructions
- Rise and prepare your rice in a rice cooker or regular ol pot on the stove
- Rinse the Beans and pick out any rocks. Put in pressure cooker and cover with 3 inches water
- Bring to high pressure, turn off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally
- Chop all the Veg and mix all the spices together while the pressure is coming down on the beans
- Put the Beans in a colander, drain and rinse well
- Heat some olive in the pressure cooker and saute all the Veg until just starting to brown 5-7 min
- Add the Beans, Spices, Vinegar, Mustard, Tomatoes, Chilies, parsley and Broth to cover by 2 inches
- Stir it all up, bring to a boil and bring up to pressure (reduce heat just to keep at pressure) for about 8-10 minutes
- Let the pressure come down a bit then open the valve slightly and release pressure all the way
- Simmer until beans are soft and season with Smoked Sea Salt, Pepper and adjust other seasoning
- Scoop out about a cup of Beans, mash them and return to pan to make a thicker sauce
- Serve over Rice with shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado, Green Onions and a bit of Parsley
Red Beans & Rice
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