Recipe(tried): Red Beans and Rice for Marcy/OR

Here is one more of our favorites, Marcy.

This recipe is from the Time/Life Foods of The World series. The cookbooks were published back in the early 1970's.

American Cooking: Creole and Acadian is the actual book the recipe is from. We like this recipe a lot. I have used it for years.

Red Beans and Rice
Servings: 4-6

6 cups water
1 pound dried small red beans or 1 pound dried red kidney beans
4 Tbsp. butter
1 cup finely chopped scallions, including 3 inches of the green tops
1/2 cup fienly chopped onions
1 tsp. finely chopped garlic
1 (1 pound) smoked ham hocks
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 cups freshly cooked long-grained rice

In a heavy 3-4 quart saucepan, bring water to a boil over high heat. Drop in the beans and boil briskly, uncovered, for 2 min. Then turn off the heat and let the beans soak for 1 hour. Alternatively, you can soak the beans over night in water. In either case, drain and rinse the beans in a seive set over a large bowl. Set the beans aside.

Melt the butter in a heavy 4 or 5 quart casserole or stockpot. When the foam begins to subside, add 1/2 c. of the scallions, the onions and the garlic and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 min, or until they are soft and translucent but not brown.

Stir in the beans and 4 cups water, the ham hocks, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer partially covered for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the beans are quite soft. Check the pot from time to time and, if the beans seem dry, add up to 1 cup more water, a few tablespoons at a time. During the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, stir frequently and mash some of the softest beans against the side of the pan to form a thick sauce for the remaining beans.

With tongs or a alotted spoon, transfer the ham hocks to a plate. Cut the meat away from the bones and remove and discard the skin, fat and gristle. Cut the meat into 1/4 inch dice and return it to the beans.

Taste the beans for seasoning and serve at once, directly from a large heated tureen. Place the rice and remaining 1/2 cup of scallions in separate bowls and present them with the beans. Not: In Louisiana, red beans and rice are trsditionally made with a leftover ham bone and you may substitute a ham bone for the ham hocks in this recipe. Without trimming off the meat, cut the bone into 2 or 3 inch pieces with a hacksaw, so that the marrow inside the pieces will melt and flavor the beans. Add the pieces of bone to the soaked beans and water and pour in enough additional water to cover then completely. When the beans are cooked, remove the bones from the pot, trim off and dice the meat, and return it to the beans. Discard the bones.

We always have this with Jimmy Dean Sausage patties, biscuits and a tossed salad. It is more often served with French Bread, I think.