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Green
Beans and Rice: It started as Red Beans and Rice
I had intended to make Red Beans and Rice, a major comfort
food from Louisiana, for my wife’s staff meeting. I had already purchased the
ham and seasoning vegetables plus cans of small red beans. Then my son in law,
Clyde, turned up with about four quarts of delicious homegrown green beans.
There is, in fact, a Cajun green beans and rice dish, called
smothered green beans, though I didn’t know it when I started making my dish. I
simply made my style of red beans and rice but used cut-up green beans instead
of cooked red beans. Same roux, same “holy trinity” of flavoring vegetables,
same ham, same Cajun seasoning.
And here it is. It’s pretty tasty. I’ll wait a bit until the
weather’s colder and make what I originally intended.
The recipe serves six to eight. Cook the rice separately
(see rice cooking in my blog post of 8/8/2019).
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
1 Poblano pepper or green bell pepper, cored and diced
1-1/4 pound big slice
of ham (such as Smithfield), fat removed, meat cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon tomato
paste or 3 tablespoons ketchup
Low-salt chicken
broth or water as needed
2 quarts green
beans, tips cut off, beans cut 1-inch long
1 tablespoon
Cajun seasoning (such as Louisiana brand or Chacheré’s) plus to taste
3 cups cooked
short or medium grained rice (1 cup dry rice) for serving
In a heavy pot, cook the flour and oil together over medium
heat, stirring frequently, until the roux starts darkening. Stir very
frequently until roux darkens to the color of peanut butter. Add the diced
vegetables, and stir and fry together for a few minutes until the vegetables
start softening. Add the ham, and stir and fry several more minutes.
Add the tomato paste or ketchup, plus enough chicken broth
or water to come up just below the surface of the ingredients. Simmer about ten
minutes, or until the celery bits are tender. Add the green beans, and a little
water, if needed, to keep it quite moist. Simmer, covered, a few minutes, then
add Cajun seasoning. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are
tender, adding a little water if becoming dry. Taste for salt, and add more
Cajun seasoning as need to get the salt to the desired level.
It’s best to let the stew cool and store, refrigerated, then
reheat to eat. Spoon the mixture over hot cooked rice. Offer Louisiana style
hot sauce as a condiment on the side.
