Red beans and rice is an emblematic dish of

Louisiana Creole cuisine Louisiana Creole cuisine (, , ) is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana, United States, which blends African cuisine, West African, French cuisine, French, Spanish cuisine, Spanish, and Native American cuisine, Native American influenc ...

(not originally of

Cajun cuisine Cajun cuisine ( , ) is a subset of Louisiana Creole cuisine, Louisiana cooking developed by the Cajuns, itself a Louisianan development incorporating elements of Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, Native American, West African, French cuisine, ...

) traditionally made on Mondays with small red beans,

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

(bell pepper, onion, and celery),

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s (

thyme Thyme () is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus ''Thymus (plant), Thymus'' of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and north Africa. Thymes have culinary, medici ...

, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf), and

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

bones as left over from

Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...

dinner, cooked together slowly in a pot and served over

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

. Meats such as ham, sausage (most commonly andouille), and tasso ham are also frequently used in the dish. The dish is customary – ham was traditionally a Sunday meal and Monday was washday. A pot of beans could sit on the stove and simmer while the women were busy scrubbing clothes. The dish is a form of rice and beans, and is now fairly common throughout the Southeast. Similar dishes are cooked throughout Central America, parts of South America, and the Caribbean, and are dietary staples. Examples are gallo pinto, moros y cristianos, feijoada, casamiento, and ''arroz con habichuelas''. A similar

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

dish '' rajma chawal'' (which translates literally to ''red beans and rice'') is popular in North

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. When the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

ended and the First Empire of Haiti was established in 1804, thousands of refugees from the revolution, both whites and free people of color (affranchis or gens de couleur libres), fled to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, often bringing African slaves with them, doubling the city's population. They also introduced such Haitian specialties as the red beans and rice and Chayote (or called mirliton; a pear-shaped vegetable) to the Louisiana Creole cuisine. Red beans and rice is one of the few New Orleans-style dishes to be commonly served both in people's homes and in restaurants. Many neighborhood restaurants and even schools continue to serve it as a Monday lunch or dinner special, usually with a side order of cornbread and either smoked sausage or a pork chop. While Monday washdays are largely historical, red beans remain a staple for large gatherings such as Super Bowl and Mardi Gras parties. New Orleanian musician

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

's favorite food was red beans and rice, and he would sign letters "Red Beans and Ricely Yours, Louis Armstrong".

References

External links

Beans and Rice
– Southern U.S. Cuisine

– The Gumbo Pages
How To Make Red Beans and Rice Video
– Cookbook Man {{Cajun cuisine American rice dishes Cuisine of New Orleans Sausage dishes Food combinations Soul food Louisiana Creole cuisine American legume dishes Cajun cuisine African-American cuisine

See also

References

External links