These red beans are not only hot during Mardi Gras season, but, for me, they’re ‘hot’ year-round! The things I adore about beans are many~~but some of the best are that they are just so versatile~~throw in salads, eat hot from a bowl, make just a bean salad, refry and make Mexican, add veggies to them~~it’s endless! Plus, these critters are truly a value for your money~~this one pound bag of red beans cost about $1.25, the bones probably a buck, and the aromatics another couple of bucks, at the most~~so, for about 4 bucks, less than a kids’ happy meal at some fast food places or a gourmet coffee from a fancy schmancy place, you can feed a family of six! And, rest assured you’re healthier!
While I use canned beans, there’s just no substitute for cooking up beans from scratch~~takes a little time, you have to watch (unless you’re using a slow cooker), but you can create your own couture chic beans with how you accessorize them. In this case, I decided to infuse a beef flavor with beef marrow pipe bones and aromatics. They were incredible the first day and even more boholicous the second day~~even if there was just a small bowl left!
Serves: 6
What you need:
1 lb dried small red beans (rinsed & drained)
¼ cup olive oil (divided)
1 cup red wine
32 oz beef broth
2-3 beef marrow bones
¼ cup diced shallots
1 tbl minced garlic
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp coarse ground pepper
½ tsp red chili flakes
Bouquet of fresh rosemary & thyme (2-3 sprigs of each)
Water (add as beans cook down~keep some by the pot as they’re cooking!)
What you do:
Put half the olive oil in a dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the red wine and 2 cups of beef broth bringing to simmering boil. Add the beef marrow bones, shallots, garlic, salt, pepper and chili flakes and blend. Add the beans, cover and let them start cooking.
Watch carefully as the beans cook on medium heat for about 2 hours adding the remaining broth and water (I probably added 8-10 cups over the course of 3-4 hours.) as needed.
After 2 hours of cooking, add the bouquet of fresh herbs and continue cooking (covered with a lid) another 1 ½ to 2 hours on medium low heat. Check to see if beans are tender. When done, remove, drizzle with remaining olive oil and just let them rest until ready to serve. Remove the stems of the bouquet and the beef bones before serving!
©alice d’antoni phillips www.allyskitchen.com
