Nee Nee’s Red Bean Soup
-6 ounces smoked sausage or andouille, and smoked ham, cut into small dice
-Pkg of smoked ham hocks (usually 3 in a pack) (leftover ham bone will also work)
-3/4 cup chopped yellow onions (small dice)
-3-4 stalks chopped celery (small dice)
-2 chopped green bell peppers (small dice)
-2 bay leaves
-1/2 teaspoon cayenne (more can be added to taste)
-1 teaspoon minced garlic
-3 (16-ounce) cans cooked canned red beans
-3 cups chicken stock or canned, low-sodium chicken broth
-1 cup cooked long-grain white rice, for garnish
-2 tablespoons chopped green onions, for garnish
In a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat, cook the sausage until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes.
To the sausage in the pan, add the onions, celery, bell peppers, bay leaf, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, scraping the bottom of the pan. The liquid from the veggies should release the graton (brown bits) from the bottom of the pan. Cook about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the red beans and their juices and 3 cups of the chicken stock, stir well to mix. Place hocks in mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick and reduced slightly, about 30 minutes, adding more stock as needed if the mixture gets too thick.
After about 30-45 minutes of simmering, remove hocks. While hocks cool, use a hand masher to mash the soup, leaving it as chunky as desired. Once hocks have cooled enough to handle, remove meat, and discard fatty parts. Dice meat and add to soup. Remove pot from the heat and discard the bay leaf.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top each portion with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cooked rice. Garish each serving with scallions and serve immediately.
