Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

• 500 g dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained and rinsed
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 200 g andouille or tasso, sliced or diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 litres water, enough to cover beans by 5 cm
• salt, added in the last 30 minutes only
• Louisiana hot sauce, Crystal preferred; to finish and to serve
• To serve
• 400 g long-grain white rice, cooked separately

Method

1. 1
   Drain and rinse the soaked beans thoroughly. Discard the soaking liquid. Place the beans in a large, heavy pot with the ham hock and andouille or tasso. Cover with cold water by at least 5 cm. Bring to the surface of movement — not a rolling boil, but a lazy bubble every few seconds. The water should barely shiver.
2. 2
   Add the onion, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Do not add salt or any acid at this stage. Maintain the lazy simmer — adjust heat as needed so the surface barely moves. Cook for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the beans are fully tender throughout with no chalky resistance at the centre.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Remove approximately 250 ml of cooked beans and mash them to a rough paste, or press beans in batches firmly against the pot wall with the back of a large spoon. Return any mashed beans to the pot and stir through. The released starch must emulsify into the broth, creating a thick, spoonable gravy that coats the back of a spoon. Too little mashing yields brothy soup; too much yields a uniform paste. The correct consistency is reached when a spoon dragged across the surface leaves a trail that holds for 2 to 3 seconds before closing.
4. 4
   Add salt and hot sauce. Stir and taste. Continue to simmer for a further 30 minutes on low heat. The beans should be deep brick-red, the broth thick and glossy, the smell of smoky pork, bay, and thyme pronounced.
5. 5
   Remove the ham hock. Pull any meat from the bone, return it to the pot, and discard the bone and skin. Remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Taste once more for salt and hot sauce. The gravy should be thick enough that the spoon-trail test still holds.
6. 6
   Pack the cooked rice firmly into a small bowl and invert it onto the centre of each plate to form a dome. Ladle the beans and their gravy around the rice dome. Serve with hot sauce on the table.