Recipe: The Gumbo Shop Red Beans and Rice (Bon Appetit, 1980's)

THE GUMBO SHOP RED BEANS AND RICE

1 lb dried red beans, rinsed and sorted
Water
1 1/2 lbs good-quality smoked sausage, cut into chunks
1/2 lb smoked ham hocks or 1/2 lb ham shanks
1 large onion diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme, crumbled
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sage
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
3 to 4 cups freshly cooked rice (for serving)
Hot sauce (optional, for serving)

Place beans in Dutch oven and cover generously with water. Let soak for 30 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients to beans, except, salt, rice and hot sauce. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until beans are tender, adding more water if necessary, about 2 1/2 hours. Add salt to taste.

Discard ham bones after cutting any meat from them into bite-sized pieces; return meat to pot. Remove about 1/2 cup of beans from mixture and mash to a paste. Return mashed beans to pot and stir through. Simmer 15 more minutes.

Serve hot over rice: pass hot sauce, if desired.

Makes 4 servings
Adapted from source: The Gumbo Shop restaurant in New Orleans in Bon Appetit magazine, September 1983