Red Beans and Rice Soup with Ham

Recipe by: Sara Moulton | from Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners

Cookstr

Course: Main Course

Total Time: Under 1 Hour

Skill Level: Easy

Cost: Inexpensive

Photo by: Joseph De Leo

Red beans and rice is one of the signature dishes of New Orleans, a city rich with the influences of Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, that’s why Louis Armstrong, New Orleans’s pioneering cultural ambassador to the world, used to sign off his letters, “Red beans and ricely yours….”

Now that virtually all of us everywhere enjoy red beans and rice, I didn’t see why I couldn’t turn this classic into a delicious soup. All it took was the addition of celery, onion, and bell pepper (aka the holy trinity of New Orleans, Cajun, and Creole cooking), a little Creole seasoning, and some chicken stock. I loved it the very first time I made it.

Leave out the sausage and ham and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock, and you’ve got a lean vegetarian version of this winner.

Yield: Makes About 10 cups, 6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces ham
1 large onion
4 medium celery stalks
1 large green bell pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning or store-bought Creole seasoning
1 pound fully cooked smoked andouille sausage
Two 15½-ounce cans red kidney beans
6 cups Homemade Chicken Stock or canned broth
1 Turkish bay leaf
1½ cups cooked white or brown rice (Note: ½ cup uncooked rice equals 1½ cups cooked.)

Directions

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Medium chop the ham (about 1 1/3 cups) and add to the saucepan; cook until the ham is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, medium chop the onion (about 2 cups), celery (about 2 cups), and bell pepper (about 1½ cups). Add the onion to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Add the celery and bell pepper and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Press the garlic (about 1 tablespoon) into the vegetables in the saucepan; stir in the Creole Seasoning and cook for 1 minute more.

3. Halve the sausage lengthwise and slice it crosswise into ¼-inch-thick pieces (about 3 cups); rinse and drain the beans. Add the chicken stock, sausage, beans, ham, and bay leaf to the vegetable mixture and simmer for 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaf, stir in the rice, heat, and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutrients per serving (% daily value)

Nutritional information does not include Creole Seasoning or Homemade Chicken Stock. For nutritional information on Creole Seasoning or Homemade Chicken Stock, please follow the links above.

Calories 449kcal (22%)

Calcium 64mg (6%)

Vitamin C 75mg (125%)

Vitamin A 11mcg RAE (0%)

Potassium 975mg

Magnesium 77mg

Protein 26g

Sugar 3g

Fiber 2g

Total Carbohydrate 23g

Cholesterol 65mg (22%)

Sodium 1415mg (59%)