“When I was single and just making food for myself, I’d make these big pots of red beans and rice and have to figure out what to do with it for the rest of the week,” Scott says. “So I figured out how to repurpose leftovers instead of eating the same thing every meal for a whole week.” That spirit of reinvention is at the heart of Scott’s new cookbook, Fix Me a Plate: Traditional and New School Soul Food Recipes. Red beans and rice is the first savory recipe in the book, but the beans lay the foundation for other spins on Southern classics that appear in the book’s Soul Remix section, including Scott’s Humdinger Red Bean Hummus and Cajun Red Bean Burgers. Now that Scott is married and has two young kids, a big pot of red beans and rice is as practical as it was in his bachelor days. “To this day I still cook red beans and rice all of the time knowing that it’s a meal I can reimagine and the family won’t get bored eating the same thing all week. So it’s become even more of a go-to now that I’ve got more than one mouth to feed.” Red beans are hearty and versatile, but they don’t have the flavor profile to carry a dish on their own. Scott relies on aromatics like onion, garlic and pepper, and a Creole seasoning blend, to build a strong flavor base with earthy undertones. But what really makes Scott’s recipe sing is the inclusion of bones and broth. Adding in chicken bones or a ham hock and leaving them in the beans for a couple of hours to cook low and slow breaks down the tissues and releases collagen and gelatin, transforming the mixture into a slurry stew. The end result is thick and rich, infused with a sense of loving warmth. When Fatherly caught up with Scott, just a few days before his wife was due to give birth to their second child, he already had his eye on red beans and rice as a dish he’d be preparing soon after everyone arrived home. “Not only because it’s one of the dishes that I love, but also because I can make it ahead the night before,” Scott explains.” I can throw the ingredients in the crock pot to cook while we sleep. When you’ve got a newborn you’re trying to make things as easy as possible. So it will most definitely be the rotation here.”
Scotty Scott’s Slow and Low Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
1 lb (500 g) dried small red beans1 tbsp (20 ml) vegetable oil1 medium yellow onion chopped2 ribs celery chopped1 tbsp (20 ml) hot sauce1 green bell pepper chopped1 15 oz (500 ml) can of tomato sauce1 lb (500 g) andouille or smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices1 tsp (5 g) salt1 tsp (5 g) Creole seasoning blend such as Soul Food Fit4 cloves garlic, minced2 tbsp (40 g) chopped fresh parsley1/4 tsp cayenne1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme3 bay leaves1 tbsp (20 g) sugarOne smoked turkey leg, turkey wing or ham hock2 quarts (2L) chicken broth3 cups (750 g) cooked white rice
