This is a Cajun classic that’s presented here using canned beans instead of dried red beans, so quicker but not as good as from scratch. But you can recover from your cuisine shortcut by ending your Cajun meal, with Beignets for dessert.
Ingredients
- 2 – 16 oz cans of red kidney beans – rinsed and drained
- 1/2 lb sliced Kielbasa or Elk sausage
- 1 TBL Olive oil
- 1 large onion – diced
- 1 green bell pepper – diced
- 2 Garlic cloves – minced
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 0.25 tsp Cayenne pepper
- Rice
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 2 TBL Butter
Process
- Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Rinse beans
- Heat a heavy bottom skillet (cast iron Dutch Oven works best) at medium heat. Once warm add oil and let it warm.
- Cook onion and bell pepper for ~4 mins.
- Add garlic and cook 1 min.
- Remove from pot and set aside
- Transfer beans and sausage to skillet. Add cajun seasoning, pepper and 1 cup water.
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
- Stir cooked vegetables.
- Simmer in covered skillet until rice is ready.
- Make rice
- Easiest to use a rice cooker.
- I like to make in a saucepan by melting 2 TBL butter in a saucepan and once hot, add the 2 cups of rice. Let the rice cook for ~3 mins on med heat. You want the rice to get hot but not to toast. Then add 4 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer 20 mins in closed pan.
To serve, place rice on plate and cover with the red bean mixture.
