Pableaux’s Monday Night Red Beans & Rice

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large heavy pot. Brown the sausage, stirring frequently, to render as much fat as possible. When well browned, remove sausage from the pot and drain on paper towels. Add onions to pot and season with lots of Tony’s, salt and pepper.
2. Cook onions over medium heat, stirring frequently, until well browned. Add garlic and cook 5 to 10 minutes; add celery and bell pepper and cook until translucent.
3. Drain water off the soaked red beans and add the beans to the pot. Cover with fresh water. Rub the basil between the palms of your hands as you add it to the pot. Add sage and bay leaves. Add sausage back to the pot and stir well.
4. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. When beans are tender, mash some with a potato masher until the mixture looks creamy.
5. Stir in the chopped green onions and most of the parsley, reserving some parsley for diners to add at the table. Season well with Crystal Hot Sauce.
6. Serve hot with cooked white rice, extra parsley and more hot sauce.

Guest blogger Pableaux Johnson is a New Orleans-based food writer and photographer. He spent the summer of 2016 traveling the country with the Red Beans Roadshow, a pop-up dinner series that brings a bit of New Orleans to restaurants across the U.S.