Shortcut Red Beans & Rice

Traditional red beans and rice are made with dry red beans, slow simmered in either the oven or a crockpot. While I would have loved to create this dish from uncooked beans, I hadn't thought about this dinner soon enough so I used canned kidney beans and got a meal just as flavorful and filling.

Tender kidney beans and the traditional southern holy trinity: onions, green bells and celery simmered with smokey herbs and spices, hot sauce and portobello mushrooms over fluffy rice.

One Year Ago Today Holiday Master Cleanse

Red Beans & Rice
serves 4
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, small dice
1 green bell pepper, medium dice
1 celery stalk, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 portobello, gills removed, small dice
1 tbl creole seasoning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 bay leaf
2-15oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbl vegan worcestershire
2-3 tsp green hot sauce, such as tobasco, to taste
cooked white or brown rice, to serve
2 tbl minced chives

In a pot or dutch oven, saute the onion, bell pepper and celery in olive oil until tender and lightly caramelized, 7 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook 7 more minutes to brown the mushrooms. Add the creole spice, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, liquid smoke and bay leaf. Saute for 2-3 minutes to toast.
Add the beans, broth, worcestershire and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, remove the lid and cook 15-20 minutes more until the broth has been absorbed and the beans are thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serve the beans and rice with chives and hot sauce on the side.