Cajun Dirty Rice with Black Beans

Once again, I invited “The Queen” to stop by for a visit. We found all kinds of good things in the fridge to work with too. Once again, from little bits of this and little bits of that, we created something really tasty. I made some Cajun dirty rice with black beans, in honor of Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday. Usually dirty rice is made with red kidney beans. I didn’t have any kidney beans at the time, but I had plenty of black beans. I like them both and use them both for many different recipes, but then I like beans in general.

Dirty rice was invented in Louisiana around the late 1700’s. It was the food of the poor people. Rice is one of Louisiana’s main crops, so it is readily available and relatively cheap. To make it go further, to feed more people, cooks would add whatever they had leftover to the rice. Often times, these additions made the rice look “dirty”, hence the name dirty rice. Dirty rice is most common in the Creole and Cajun areas of Louisiana. Dirty rice is frequently referred to as Cajun Rice in Louisiana and other parts of the South due to the dish’s history with the Acadian immigrants of Louisiana. Cajun rice typically incorporates Andouille sausage, bell pepper, celery, and onions along with a blend of traditional Cajun spices. In some southern regions, it is also called rice dressing. I used all of the above listed ingredients and then some. I also added a little lime vinaigrette to the mix as well.

My rice was already cooked, as was my Andouille sausage. I started off by cooking the peppers, garlic, onions and Cajun seasonings, then added my Hatch green chilies and all my cooked foods and beans to the mix. I used the lime vinaigrette as my cooking oil for all my vegetables, to give a little extra zip to the dish.

Once everything was all cooked and heated up, it was time to enjoy. I served it with my Tuscan ribs. Tuscan Style Beef Short Ribs with Lemon Rosemary Sauce and a glass or two of a cool, crisp chardonnay. Laissez le bontemps roulez!

Don’t be afraid of those leftovers in your fridge. Play with them and see what you can create. You never know until you try, right?! You just may surprise yourself and come up with something really tasty too, like I usually do. 🙂

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.