Ingredients

• 1 lb camellia red beans
• 2 medium ham shanks
• 4 stalks celery
• 1 carrot
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 red onions
• 4 -5 andouille sausages (or a pack of pork sausage for milder spice)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or to taste)
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• onion powder
• cajun seasoning (optional)

Instructions

1. Either soak beans overnight according to package directions, or for a quick soak, cover beans with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil for 25 minutes. Turn off heat and let beans rest for 4 hours.

2. The key to good red beans and rice is the stock. To make stock, boil ham shanks with a carrot, one stalk of celery and half an onion until the meat falls off the bone. This will take about 1½ hours. Remove the shanks, shred the meat off the bone and set aside.

3. You want about 8 cups of stock.

4. Add red beans to the ham stock and bring to a boil. Reduce beans to a gentle boil and cook for 1½ hours until beans are almost tender. Be sure to check them after an hour. Bean cooking times can vary, and you don’t want them to get mushy.

5. Chop remaining celery,onion and bell pepper.

6. Slice andouille sausage and saute until browned. Then, pour off most of the fat and cook the vegetables in the remaining fat for a few minutes. (The vegetables should still be crisp.).

7. When beans are almost done, add the vegetables, shredded ham, sausage, soy sauce and garlic to them. Add onion powder to taste and if desired, Cajun seasoning. If you add Cajun seasoning, be careful not to add too much because some have a lot of salt.

8. Simmer 10 minutes more, or until beans are tender in the middle.

9. Before serving, remove several tablespoons of beans and mash them. Return to pot to thicken the sauce.

10. Serve over rice garnished with parsley and a slice of baguette.