...the Knicks actually pulled out a rare road victory in New Orleans! If you look closely, the Pelicans' jersey sponsor is Zatarain's. Coincidentally, I'd already decided to go behind their back and give this recipe a shot.
Recipe
1 lb kidney beans
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
~1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground sage
4 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
salt & pepper & oil
optional
hot sauce
cider vinegar
1 smoked ham hock
8 oz pickled pork shoulder
white rice
OK you have to start by soaking the beans in (a lot of) salted water, 8-16 hours, then drain and rinse.
Once you're ready to get started, heat a tbsp of oil (or lard) in a big dutch oven and brown your andouille. Then add the vegetables (and a sprinkle of salt) and soften, then the garlic briefly, then the cayenne, sage and a bunch of black pepper also briefly. Next in go the beans, cover them with water (6-8 cups), and add the thyme and bay leaves. Boil, cover, and simmer 2 hours, give or take, until the beans are soft. Remove the lid and continue to cook until it thickens. Remove the inedibles (bay leaves, thyme stems), add hot sauce and cider vinegar, and serve over rice.
Notes
This one takes a long time! (Denver elevation probably didn't help get those beans soft quickly.) Ton of flavor between the sausage and spices! And there's actually a good bit of vegetables in there with the "Holy Trinity" - but I added an avocado even though it's not technically cajun but it ended up fitting in nicely. My main mistake seemed to be adding too much water so the gravy didn't seem too thick - next time I'd start more conservative and add more as needed.
