Red Beans and Rice (From Dave Cash)
* 3 lbs dried, soaked red beans
* uh uhnion, chopped
* Gramps, the green bell pepper, chopped
* several good shakes of chili powder
* a nice bit of cumin
* enough Hungarian paprika to make its people proud
* small pile of black pepper
* three or ten (or none) heaping tablespoons of chopped garlic
* (possibly) another spoonful of garlic
Throw everything into a 5.5-qt. crockpot (after the beans have been soaked for at least three hours and the water changed) and cook on high setting overnight. Feeds about 15 hungry friends.
Barry did a pressure cooker version of the recipe too.
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In January of 2005, I sent the following letter with this recipe to food columnist Judyrae Kruse of the Everett (Washington) Herald, and the recipe was published. Following is the letter with the story of Dave’s Red Beans and Rice:
Hello!
My husband and I recently lived in New Orleans for five months. While there, we were delighted to meet Dave Cash, who serves up red beans and rice to his friends every Monday. Dave tells us that Monday beans is a tradition in New Orleans; in the old days, women who worked on plantations did laundry that day. The beans would simmer on the fire all day and be served up with minimal fuss in the evening, when the laundry-workers were tired. This works for Dave, too, who works all day while his beans simmer in the crockpot.
Since Dave is vegan, his recipe is as well. We are not vegetarians ourselves, but we like the recipe so much we usually cook it as is. Other times we have added some spicy sausage to the beans with great success.
Now that we’re back home, we still fix Dave’s recipe every Monday. In keeping with his generous tradition, we’ve invited all our friends to join us for a hot, steaming bowl served over rice.
Margaret Schulte
4 Responses to “Red Beans and Rice (From Dave Cash)”
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February 6th, 2005 at 1:24 am
We don’t have a crockpot and need to make a bunch of this
for a gathering next weekend. What do you suggest? Also: what
about Sausage??
December 31st, 2005 at 1:30 am
You can simmer this on the stove for a couple of hours, instead of in a crockpot. Just test the beans periodically to see when they’re done — you don’t have to eat one, just try to mash it with a spoon.
The key is to soak the beans overnight first, otherwise they’ll take forever to cook and may give your friends gas.
April 12th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Hi again! I’m using a crock pot this time and notice there’s no liquid listed in the recipe. Really!?
April 12th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
OK, that’s a little weird…for years, I’ve been receiving weekly emails with a copy of this recipe, and I never noticed that the amount of water was so vague. We just add enough water to cover the beans.
In a strange coincidence, I finally asked to be removed from the list a couple of weeks ago. Here’s the message I sent:
We have stayed on this list, never quit,
‘Cause we once enjoyed streams of beans lit,
But the truth is, dear friend,
That all good things must end,
After five years, please take us off it.
“Beans lit” was the term for the sometimes-hilarious poetry celebrating beans that Dave Cash used to send out with his weekly invitations. They ended a few years back, although the weekly beans continue, having moved to another friends’ house.