I adapted Emeril Lagasse’s red beans and rice recipe to suit my vegetarian diet a few years ago. I’m no longer vegetarian, but I still turn to this recipe when I’m craving this classic. I also add Conecuh sausage now… because it’s delicious. Who better to follow for Cajun cuisine than Emeril, himself?
Ingredients
1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and sorted over
2 small onions or 1 medium onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
Pinch cayenne
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 ½ cups water
4 cups cooked brown rice (I like mine cooked in veg stock)
1/4 cup chopped green onions, garnish
Not vegan version-add Coneuch sausage (slice up and sauté until brown. Remove sausage then sauté veggies and proceed as follows.
Directions
In the Instant Pot, sauté the onions, celery, garlic and peppers on medium high with a little oil (or the fat rendered from the sausage for the non vegan version).
Stir in salt, pepper, liquid smoke (leave out if making dish with sausage), cayenne, bay leaves, and parsley. Next, stir in the dry beans, vegetable stock, and water. Use the beans/chili setting on your Instant Pot. 40 minutes later… it’s ready (here is where you would add the cooked Conecuh sausage back to the dish).
Make brown rice according to package directions and serve with the red beans and green onions. Voila! Enjoy.
