Red Beans and Rice Didn't Miss Her

{Image via Delicious! Delicious!}

Oh lordy. I'm having a bad, bad craving for some classic New Orleans style red beans and rice. This creole dish is comprised of red beans, trinity, spices and smoked andouille sausage and it is slowly cooked and served over a steaming mound of Creole white rice with a side of cornbread to mop up your leftovers with. It's hearty, delicious and rib sticking good. Monday is the day to catch this traditional meal in restaurants across New Orleans and the reason has to do with a little housekeeping and penny-pinching creole thrift.

Back in the day, Monday mornings were wash days so one could have the pot of red beans on the stove cooking all day while the washing and mending of laundry was attended to. To conserve and not waste, the ham bone from Sunday's dinner was re-used in Monday's red beans and rice for flavor and texture which gave rise to our standard notion of what red beans and rice should taste like. Cooking a pot of beans was not only delicious but economical; beans are inexpensive and combined with the ham bone it became a protein laden dinner. That tradition has continued to this day, with the exclusion of laundry of course, and it is typically a Monday lunch special or served in conjunction with jambalaya or muffalettas for large get togethers. I have found that the best dishes I've had in my lifetime tend to be the simplest and this dish is a testament to that.

In my humble opinion the best place to get red beans and rice is no other than Bruff Commons at Tulane University. I've been to the hoity-toity New Orleans restaurants and tried their beans but they don't hold a candle to what the Bruff lunch ladies can whip up. If you are down in New Orleans make sure to stop by for Monday lunch. Oh and your red beans and rice will be lonely without some genuine Louisiana hot sauce. Happy eating!