Name: Red Beans and Rice Nachos
Ingredients: 1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and picked through for stones; 1/3 cup diced pancetta; 1 large yellow onion, diced; 3 celery stalks, chopped; 1 green or red bell pepper, deseeded and diced; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; pinch cayenne or a few dashes of Tony Chachere Seasoning; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, coarsely chopped; 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, roughly chopped; 1/2 pound cooked smoked sausage cut into 1-inch pieces; about 10 cups chicken stock; 2 bay leaves; 6 cups cooked white rice; chopped green onions, garnish; For the Nachos: (you decide the proportions for many folks or a few); corn tortilla chips; 1 block of pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese; cajun seasoning; 1/2 cup sour cream + 2 tablespoons creole or whole grain brown mustard; coarsely chopped fresh parsley and green onions

Description

This recipe makes a giant pot of Red Beans and Rice. The Red Beans freeze well so make a big ol’ pot if you can. Also, you could halve this recipe and make a more managable size for your nachos.

Ingredients

Scale

1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and picked through for stones
1/3 cup diced pancetta
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, deseeded and diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch cayenne or a few dashes of Tony Chachere Seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, roughly chopped
1/2 pound cooked smoked sausage cut into 1-inch pieces
about 10 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
6 cups cooked white rice
chopped green onions, garnish
For the Nachos: (you decide the proportions for many folks or a few)
corn tortilla chips
1 block of pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese
cajun seasoning
1/2 cup sour cream + 2 tablespoons creole or whole grain brown mustard
coarsely chopped fresh parsley and green onions

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Place clean dried beans in a medium pot and cover with room temperature water. Allow to soak overnight before making the beans.
If you don’t have time to soak the beans overnight, don’t fret. Place the clean dried beans in a medium pot and cover with room temperature water. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. As soon as the beans boil, cover, remove from heat, and allow to soak for 1 hour. Carry on with the recipe.
In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook pancetta until very well crisp, about 6 minutes.
Add the onions, celery, and bell pepper and cook until vegetables are very well done, about 8 minutes.
Add salt, pepper, and cayenne or Tony Chachere Seasoning and stir to combine.
Stir in the garlic, parsley, thyme, and sliced sausage. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until the sausage is well browned, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently.
Add the softened beans to the pot, the stock, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 2 hours, uncovered, until the beans are well softened.
Taste and season with more salt or pepper.
For a slightly smoother consistency, blend about 1/3 of bean and sausage mixture in a blender or food processor and return to the pot. This way, some of the beans will be ground smooth and some will be kept whole, creating a really lovely consistency. You can also smooth out some of the beans by mashing them against the side of the pan once they’re softened, but I like the bender method best.
To make the nachos, turn the oven broiler on.
Mound tortilla chips onto a sheet pan and sprinkle generously with cheese. Sprinkle with a few dashes of cajun spice.
In a small bowl stir together equal parts beans and rice. Dollop mixture over the cheese and seasoning. Sprinkle with more cheese.
Cook under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
While mixture melts, in a small bowl stir together sour cream and mustard.
Remove the nachos from the oven, add a bit more warm beans and warm rice dollop with sour cream mixture and sprinkle with herbs. Enjoy warm!