Red Beans & Rice- Pink Adobe
Red beans and rice from the Pink Adobe restaurant with ham hock, tomato sauce, Tabasco, and sausage. Soaked overnight, simmered for hours, with mashed beans stirred back in for creamy richness.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
11 hrsThis red beans and rice recipe carries the name of Santa Fe’s legendary Pink Adobe restaurant, but the flavors are pure Louisiana. Dried red beans soaked overnight, simmered with a meaty ham hock, tomato sauce, Tabasco, and thyme until they break down into a thick, creamy stew spooned over long grain rice.
The mashing trick is what makes this version stand out. After 30 minutes of simmering, you pull out a cup of beans, mash them in a blender or food processor, and stir that paste back into the pot. The mashed beans dissolve into the cooking liquid and thicken it into a gravy-like consistency that clings to the rice. Whole beans floating in thin broth is the mark of underdeveloped red beans, and this technique fixes that.
Bacon drippings for sauteing the onions sets the foundation. That smoky pork fat carries through the entire two-hour simmer, building a flavor base that the ham hock deepens. A splash of vinegar stirred in at the start adds a subtle acidity that keeps the richness in check.
Chef Tips
- Soak the beans overnight. Unsoaked beans take twice as long to cook and never get as creamy as properly soaked ones.
- Keep the simmer low and stir occasionally. Beans scorched to the bottom of the pot ruin the entire batch with a burnt flavor.
- Shred the ham hock meat and return it to the pot at the end. That slow-simmered pork is too flavorful to throw away with the bone.
Variations
- Use andouille sausage for the garnish for a more authentic Cajun flavor profile.
- Add a few dashes of liquid smoke if you don’t have bacon drippings.
- Stir in a handful of chopped green onion tops right before serving for a fresh, sharp bite.
Ingredients
Directions
Clean and wash beans.
Soak in a large pot overnight. When ready to cook, drain off water.
In a heavy 4-quart pot or dutch oven, heat the bacon fat.
Sauté onions until wilted.
Add the beans, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, vinegar, tabasco, red pepper, and thyme.
Add enough water to cover the beans.
Simmer until beans are semi-cooked, about 30 minutes.
Remove 1 cup of beans and drain.
Mash in processor or blender. Return mashed beans to pot along with ham hock and cook over low heat for 2 hours, until the mixture is creamy, stirring occasionally.
(The beans should be creamy and juicy.)
Toward the end of cooking time, if the beans seem to dry, add a little broth or tomato juice.
When done, remove ham hock.
Remove meat from hock and return meat to the pot.
Stir to mix. Evenly divide the rice into 6 individual serving bowls.
Spoon the beans over the rice.
Garnish with chopped onion, Tabasco sauce, and cooked sausage slices.
Serve with French bread.
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