I like Cajun food in general and my Alabama-born-and-raised husband pretty much has cayenne pepper flowing through his veins so we eat Cajun foods fairly often in this house. Like our pepper shaker has cayenne in it instead of black pepper. Out of all the Cajun dishes I have tried, étouffée is one of my favorites. The deep, smoky, bold flavored sauce over rice always hits the spot.

This time I tried to switch it up and use red beans instead of chicken, shrimp, or sausage which is what we usually do. It is by no means a quick meal but the depth of flavor from the cooking method is so worth the effort.

I like to start by prepping my vegetables so I’m not scrambling to cut them while something is burning on the stove. So I prepped my bell pepper, onion, and garlic before getting started in my roux.

A roux is generally a cooked mixture of half fat and half flour uses to thicken and flavor saucy foods like gravy, stew, and étouffée. A roux comes in three different colors: white, blonde, and brown. A white roux has no color and no real flavor and is great to thicken cream sauces. A blonde roux has a slight color and offers a slightly nutty flavor. A brown roux adds a deep color and rich flavor to foods and is very common in Cajun cooking. That’s the one we are making here. Before we start, two pieces of advice: cook brown roux low and slow because you want it dark but not burnt and DON’T BURN YOURSELF. Roux burns and sugar burns are the worst. Stir carefully.

I like to add my spices in with the flour because of the dark flavor it adds. I love the variety if spices in Cajun cooking. You can also use pre-mixed Cajun spice if you have that on hand.

Heat your oil on low in a heavy bottomed pot. Add your flour and spice mix and mix constantly with a wire whisk. The roux will gradually darken. Mine took about 15 minutes to get to the color I wanted.

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Add your onion and bell pepper, raise your heat to medium, and cook for about 3 minutes. Your roux will continue to darken.

I explained briefly in my spinach and black bean enchilada recipe what to do if you forget to soak your beans because I had forgotten to do so. Basically, cover with water, boil ten minutes, cover and let rest for an hour or so. Then drain and use the same as you would use soaked beans. This time, I did not forget! So add your beans and garlic next.

Add your tomato sauce, remaining seasonings, and water.

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Bring to a simmer and cover. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR BEANS! They dry up sometimes and you need to add more water. Whenever I add all the water at once it ends up being too much so I usually add more as it cooks so that it doesn’t end up too soupy. Mine cooked for about 1 1/2 hours but sometimes they are done after an hour. So keep an eye on them. Once they are tender, adjust your salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

The house smelled so good this whole time so it was hard to wait for the beans to cool down! It is great to pair this time-intensive dish with simpler sides like this roasted garlic pilaf-style rice and cajun spice roasted vegetables. And of course, top with hot sauce to taste!

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Red Bean Étouffée

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry red beans, soaked overnight
• 1 1/2 cups onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cups green bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, to taste
• 8 oz. canned tomato sauce
• 3 cups plus 1 cup water or stock
• Oil for cooking
• Hot sauce, to taste

Directions

1. Soak beans in water overnight
2. Prep bell pepper, onion, and garlic
3. Heat 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons oil om low heat in a medium sized pot
4. Add flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, basil, chili powder, black pepper, sage, and cayenne pepper to oil to form roux
5. Stir constantly with a wire whisk until roux is brown, about the color of milk chocolate
6. Add bell pepper and onion; raise to medium heat and cook about 3 minutes
7. Add beans and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes
8. Add tomato sauce, salt, Worcestershire/soy sauce, and bay leaves
9. Simmer on low, covered, for about 1-1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally and adding water as needed (about 1 cup total)
10. When tender, adjust salt and cayenne pepper to taste
11. Serve over rice, top with hot sauce taste!