Flavor Rules at Russell’s Marina Grill

When Tyisha Naylor became the chef at Russell’s Marina Grill four years ago, she was walking into a restaurant with dishes that customers had been ordering for decades. Particularly, its red beans and rice.

“The recipe, it’s probably 25 years old at least,” says Pavlos Petrou, who has owned the restaurant since 1989. The Lakefront restaurant was founded in 1985 by Russell Cuoco. “When she came in, we told her, ‘Hey, you can add your own flavors just to see, but this is the base we want to work off of.”

Naylor, a native of New Orleans, dived right in to add her spin on red beans and rice. “When I got here, they weren’t adding meat. I’m used to chopping the meat up and putting it in the beans.”

Tyisha learned to cook from her grandmother and started making red beans and rice at 14 years old, but “I didn’t get it quite right until I was maybe about 16,” she says. “It was a Monday tradition. I would always come home from school and she would tell me, ‘Go get a pack of Camellia Beans and $2 worth of D&D (Double D brand) smoked sausages.’”

At the restaurant, Tyisha changes up the meat — one week it can be ham shank or alligator sausage; another week, crawfish sausage or smoked sausage.

The Camellia Beans tradition holds strong.

One thing she didn’t change was the brand of beans — Camellia Brand: “I grew up cooking with them.” Pavlos also wanted her to continue using them: “Russell Cuoco always told me ‘Buy the best because with the best, you can make a lot of good things, but you can’t make good food out of garbage. You can’t make good stuff out of just okay stuff’ – and to this day, we buy the best, and that is what the Camellia Brand is — whether it’s the red beans, of course, or other beans.”

At Russell’s, Red Beans and Rice is a Monday Special

The red beans and rice are a traditional Monday special, and other Camellia brand beans — such as black-eyed peas and lima beans — will pop up on the menu throughout the week.

But it is the red beans and rice that fans look forward to on Monday, with Russell’s serving the dish with ham shank or alligator sausage, cornbread on the side, and a cup of soup (often gumbo) or a side salad, and a dessert.

It often sells out — the ham shank is the favorite side with customers.

Even though the Lakefront dining scene has changed through the years — Russell’s was once open until 3 a.m. to serve partygoers who then flocked to the West End eateries and bars, many destroyed by Hurricane Katrina — what has remained is Russell’s, serving up tradition, including red beans and rice on Mondays.

Russell’s Marina Grill, 8555 Pontchartrain Blvd., (504) 282-9980, russellsmarinagrill.net;  Hours: 7 days, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Stovetop Southwest Pinto Beans

A classic that works as a side or a base for tacos, bowls, and more — and thanks to our Southwest Pinto Beans Flavor Infusion, it comes together with minimal effort so you can spend less time measuring and more time with your family.

Bean & Poblano Chile Soup

Robust Black Beans and velvety Pinto Beans blend with roasted poblano peppers, cilantro, onion, and garlic in this rich, creamy soup. Each spoonful delivers just the right amount of heat.

Enfrijoladas

A rich, satisfying dish that puts beans front and center, created by Chef Guillermo Peters of Canal Street Bistro in Mid-City New Orleans.

Pinto Bean & Kale Enchiladas with Spicy Tomatillo Salsa

These enchiladas are a crowd-pleaser with the perfect balance of hearty and fresh. This recipe comes from our friends at Taste of the South and is well worth the effort.

Southern Quesadillas

A Southern twist on a classic, these quesadillas combine pulled pork, barbecue sauce, collard greens, and Blackeye Peas. Simple to make, it’s a go-to favorite that’s perfect for sharing.

Stovetop Chipotle Black Beans Flavor Infusion

Rich, smoky, and satisfying straight from the pot. Our Chipotle Black Beans Flavor Infusion does the heavy lifting — clean ingredients, perfectly balanced spices, and a dish worth coming back to for seconds.

However you celebrate, the best part of Cinco de Mayo is the same as any good Southern holiday — an excuse to cook something from the heart and share it with the people you love. Set out the toppings, warm the tortillas, and enjoy every bite together.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Lima beans, green beans, corn, pork, and sweet potatoes are among the ingredients in a Caldo soup served at Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society’s 41st annual Fiesta in St. Bernard, Louisiana. (Photo by Marie de Grado)

When it comes to exotic Louisiana subcultures that have captured the popular imagination, the Cajuns and Creoles have cornered the market. Thanks to larger-than-life culinary ambassadors such as Paul Prudhomme and Justin Wilson; Hollywood depictions such as Swamp People; and music crazes such as Rockin’ Sidney’s zydeco hit “My Toot Toot,” most of America has pegged the whole of Louisiana as happy-go-lucky, alligator-wrestling, French-speaking bon vivants.

But let’s not forget Louisiana’s “Spanish tinge,” to lift a phrase from New Orleans jazz giant Jelly Roll Morton. Past the Lower 9th Ward and down the road through St. Bernard Parish toward Delacroix Island live the Isleños — “masters of the marsh” who are just as culturally intriguing as the Cajuns, except they habla español rather than parle francais.

A Louisiana Isleño checks his muskrat trap in the marshes near Delacroix Island in 1941. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Los Isleños: Canary Islanders Who Settled in Louisiana

Under the radar for centuries, and yet practically in New Orleans’ backyard, are the descendants of Canary Islanders, or “Isleños,” who immigrated from the archipelago off the African coast in the 1770s and ’80s and settled in four Louisiana locations, the most enduring of which is St. Bernard, just east of New Orleans.

Charbroiled oysters are served at Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society’s 41st annual Fiesta in St. Bernard on March 9-10. (Photo by Marie de Grado)

Isleño Culture and Food Traditions Survive for Generations

Like the Cajuns, the Isleños became farmers, hunters, trappers, and fishers in the dense, swampy terrain. Generation after generation thrived in the isolated cypress groves along Bayou Terre-aux-Boeufs, living self-sufficiently off the bounty of land and sea and selling their wares in New Orleans markets. Their Hispanic language and customs were preserved through their seclusion, and yet they also adapted their lifestyles to the unique lay of the Louisiana land.

Boat models on display at the Isleño museum complex in St. Bernard depict the fishing and maritime lifestyles of the Canary Island descendants. (Photo by Marie de Grado)

Amazingly, their frozen-in-time 18th-century Spanish dialect survived the centuries, encapsulated in orally transmitted folk songs known as decimas, right up through Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And while their cuisine has much in common with Cajun cooking, drawing its ingredients from the same region, a few distinct dishes with roots in the Canary Islands are still served today.

Bacon-wrapped plantains are served at Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society’s 41st annual Fiesta in St. Bernard on March 5-6. (Photo by Marie de Grado)

Isleño Cookbook a Roadmap to Hidden Culinary Treasures

Thanks to the preservation and outreach efforts of groups like Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society, which celebrates its annual “Los Isleños Fiesta”, the world is starting to awaken to the legacy of the Isleños.

And food is a large part of the Isleños’ identity. The Isleño society’s cookbook features Canarian-style dishes such as Besugo al Horno (Baked Red Snapper with Potatoes), Chayotes Rellenas (Stuffed Mirliton in Sauce), Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp), and Empanadillas de Chorizo (Sausages in Pastry). Also offered are recipes for local specialties like Alligator Stew, Marinated Shrimp, and Duck Sauce Piquante, as well as numerous bean dishes.

Saveur magazine has profiled Isleño food traditions, and Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern even visited “Da Parish” and sat down with some locals for a bowl of Caldo.

Caldo: An Old World Stew Rules This Bayou

Caldo is the most famous Isleño dish, a complex vegetable soup that employs a medley of diverse ingredients, much like a Cajun or Creole gumbo, but without a roux.

Navy beans (or limas) are the Caldo’s centerpiece, supplemented by components such as pickled pork, fresh green beans, corn, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. Of course, like gumbo, each Caldo recipe can vary from cook to cook or family to family, and depends on whatever ingredients are on hand at any given time.

The Caldo recipe presented here is from Isleño elder stateswoman Dorothy L. Benge, whose family donated land that serves as part of the overall Isleño museum complex. According to Benge, this recipe, which uses both salt pork and pickled pork, is “from my grandmother, Camille Silvera Molero, 1891-1976.”

A pot of Caldo simmers at a recent Isleño Fiesta. (Photo from Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society’s Facebook page)

Caldo Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound salt pork*
1 pound pickled pork*
1 cup dried Navy Beans, soaked overnight
3 ears corn, cut into 6 or 9 pieces
2 cups Large Lima Beans (fresh or frozen, optional)
3 small sweet potatoes (whole or halved)
6 to 8 small Irish potatoes (whole or halved)
1 medium head cabbage, sliced
1 pound fresh green beans
1 or 2 Knorr caldo concentrado de jamon (ham bouillon cubes) to taste
3 quarts water
Salt to taste

Directions:
Place salt pork in pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil 5 to 10 minutes to remove some of the salt from the pork. Drain and rinse, discarding the water. Drain beans from overnight water and rinse. Add beans and salt pork and pickled pork to stockpot with 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil and cook until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Add remaining vegetables and bouillon cubes. Cook until potatoes are done, about 20 to 30 minutes. Add more water if needed. Add salt. Serve over rice. Serves 10 to 12.

An Isleño models a traditional Canary Islands dress at the March Isleño Fiesta in St. Bernard. (Photo by Marie de Grado)

Go Soak Up Some Isleño Celebrations

Every March the museum complex at 1345 Bayou Road in St. Bernard is the site of the annual Isleño heritage fiesta, full of rich history, beautiful scenery and architecture, authentic arts and crafts, live music and dance, and delicious food. Besides Caldo, fest-goers gorge on shrimp, oysters, and fish; Louisiana classics such as jambalaya and gumbo; and Spanish favorites such as paella, flan, and sangria. This year’s fiesta takes place Saturday, March 7th – Sunday, March 8th, 2026.

Also be sure to catch Chalmette’s 2026 St. Bernard Irish Italian Isleños Parade, which will feature 50 floats, 30+ marching groups, and 300,000 pounds of fresh produce (cabbage, potatoes, onions, carrots, etc.) for whipping up your own batch of Caldo at home! The parade rolls Saturday, April 11th, 2026 at 11 am.

*Salt pork usually comes from the fattiest part of the pork belly but is neither smoked nor cured like bacon, just generously salted for preservation. No other seasonings are added.

Pickled pork often is made from meatier cuts and has been rubbed and layered with a mix of salt and pickling spices such as mashed cloves, ground allspice, chopped onions, and bay leaves. The meat is rendered supremely tender and is preseasoned from the brine.

Both salt pork and pickled pork are used to flavor slow-cooked pots of beans and smothered vegetables. The fat from the salt pork melts into the dish, lending flavor, whereas the generous seasonings used in the brining process for pickled pork are rendered into the pot as the meat breaks down and saturates the pot’s other ingredients with its flavors.

Both salt pork and pickled pork are available in some grocery stores. Pickled pork tends to be more available in south Louisiana. Salt pork is not hard to make — it’s just pork fat and salt. For Caldo, one could use salted pork fat or pork belly as a replacement for salt pork.

Caldo recipe from Los Isleños (Canary Islanders) Cookbook by Los Isleños Heritage & Cultural Society, © Los Isleños Heritage & Cultural Society used by permission of the publisher, Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.

If you enjoy the Red Beans Parade – that legume-loving marching club that celebrates the importance of red beans & rice and carnival every Lundi Gras – then you’ll surely have an appetite for its offshoot, the Dead Beans Parade. Devin DeWulf started the Red Bean Parade in 2008, incorporating elements of a second line and Mardi Gras Indian tribes into a walking parade which takes place – naturally – on a Monday. Monday has traditionally been the day New Orleanians cook red beans and rice, so Lundi Gras was a natural fit. The krewe’s philosophy is simple. It’s about meeting and socializing with other creative types while celebrating New Orleans’ quirky culture. Members meet on Monday nights to work on their bean-adorned costumes, have a drink, and eat red beans. The elaborate costumes are a point of pride to the group. The first parade consisted of about 20 members, but today it boasts more than five times as many.

The Dead Beans Parade

The Krewe of Red Beans has always had marchers who costume as skeletons – also known as “Dead Beans” – as well as those whose costumes are tributes to celebrities who’ve died in the preceding year. So in order to grow the popular krewe in a way that keeps the marches small and intimate, it made sense to create a separate group called the Dead Beans.

Got kids? The Dead Beans aren’t scary – they’re fun! Carnival-goers of all ages are welcome.

Stovetop Cajun White Beans

When you wanna season a pot of white beans in one fell swoop, rely on our White Bean Flavor Infusion. Whether you prefer Great Northerns, Navy Beans, Limas, or Cannellinis, you’ll be good to go.

Stovetop Creole Red Beans

Our Red Bean Flavor Infusion is a tried-and-true blend of authentic Creole spices and vegetables that’ll season a pot of red beans to perfection. You won’t believe how easy it is to get great flavor — just add beans!

Instant Pot Red Bean Soup

Enjoy the traditional flavor of red beans and rice, but in soup form! This recipe involves sautéing vegetables and sausage, then pressure-cooking with red beans, ham hock, and flavorful seasonings. After cooking, the soup is served over rice for a hearty and satisfying meal.

Slow Cooker Beef & Black Bean Chili

This slow cooker beef and black-bean chili is easy, hearty & flavorful, and it’s certain to become a gameday favorite.

Instant Pot White Bean Chili

A fast, comforting, and delicious Instant Pot white chicken chili recipe that’s great for weeknights as well as game day get-togethers.

As to be expected in New Orleans, the Krewe of Red Beans’ Bean Madness Championship in 2019 was fiercely contested,  bringing red beans and rice to the spotlight of culinary competitions. And, as with any challenge, there can only be one winner. 

The Queen of Red Beans is crowned.

Emily Shaya was crowned the Queen of Red Beans — with her recipe now creating new fans at Miss River, where red beans and rice isn’t just a Monday tradition — it’s celebrated daily. The restaurant, located in the Four Seasons New Orleans Hotel, is part of Pomegranate Hospitality, which owns Saba and Safta’s Kitchen in New Orleans, as well as other restaurants in the U.S. and the Bahamas.

The restaurant’s cuisine is guided by Emily’s husband, Chef Alon Shaya, himself a winner of two James Beard Foundation Awards. But when it comes to red beans and rice at Miss River, which is Chef Alon’s culinary homage to Louisiana cuisine, it’s Emily’s red beans and rice recipe that’s the star.

Studying the art and science of perfect red beans.

So how did this native of Georgia embrace one of the city’s most beloved dishes? Emily’s deep dive into New Orleans food began when she attended Tulane University as an undergraduate and its A.B. Freeman School of Business. Afterwards, while living in Atlanta, she got homesick for New Orleans food. “I missed New Orleans so much that I wanted to bring that piece of it there,” says Emily.

She experimented with cookbook recipes and the instructions on the back of the Camellia Brand Red Kidney Bean bag, brought back ingredients from her trips to New Orleans, and used her creativity to craft her signature dish.

“I decided I really wanted to perfect red beans,” says Emily.

Once she returned to New Orleans for good, her kitchen became a hub for friends and family to gather around simmering pots of beans.

The meat stock is the thing!

The red beans recipe would evolve even more with trips to local grocery stores. “I’d see what kind of interesting meats we could get — sausage or pickled pork … we eventually found pickled turkey necks and experimented with that for a while,” she says. 

A key ingredient became a rich, gelatinous stock made from chicken wings and sometimes pork. “I think the stock is really important,” says Emily. “It makes the beans creamy because the base is not water.” That and simmering the beans all day are “kind of like my secret weapons.”

Another key step for Emily is soaking the beans. “I just think it makes life a little bit easier,” she explains. “You don’t have to watch over the beans as much if you soak them.”

Here’s where to come eat these perfect red beans:

Her red beans recipe was adapted for Miss River, “So it has all the love and care that we do at home. The team here in the kitchen does it every day.” Emily’s red beans and rice are featured in two ways at Miss River: as a side dish, Emily’s Famous Red Beans and Rice, or as an entrée, Emily’s Famous Red Beans and Rice with Buttermilk-fried Chicken.

“We really wanted to pair fried chicken with our red beans and rice,” says Emily. “We’re kind of famous for our fried chicken here. We [also] do a whole chicken that is really a spectacle.”

Why Camellia Brand beans? For Emily, the answer is simple: consistency. “When you are soaking your beans, you can see how clean the water looks. You know you will always get beautiful beans from Camellia.”

Emily, who is a co-founder and director of New Projects at Pomegranate Hospitality, is still making her red beans and rice for family and friends as often as she can.

Whether in her own kitchen or made by the staff at Miss River, each pot carries the same intention: to feed, comfort and create lasting memories.

Emily Shaya’s Famous Red Beans and Rice Recipe

Bring Emily Shaya’s red beans home — a soulful, slow-simmered taste of New Orleans tradition, straight from Miss River’s kitchen.

Courtesy of Emily Shaya | Founder and Director of New Projects, Pomegranate Hospitality (New Orleans: Saba, Saba’s Lounge, Miss River and Chandelier Bar at Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, Safta’s Table; Denver: Safta, Ceci! Italian Lounge; Bahamas: Silan at Atlantis Paradise Island)

Miss River, Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, 2 Canal St.; (504) 434-5701, missrivernola.com/; on Instagram. 

According to researchers studying the world’s longest-living populations — known as the Blue Zones — the answer is yes.

Around the world, in communities where people regularly live past 100, one food shows up on plates every single day: beans. In these Blue Zones, beans aren’t just a side dish — they’re a cornerstone of vitality and longevity, fueling simple, satisfying meals that support health and well-being for generations.

The Blue Zones: Where Longevity Begins

The term Blue Zones comes from a landmark study led by National Geographic researcher Dan Buettner, who identified five regions where people live the longest, healthiest lives:

• Ikaria, Greece – black-eyed peas, chickpeas, lentils
• Okinawa, Japan – soybeans in tofu, miso, and edamame
• Nicoya, Costa Rica – black beans as a staple breakfast food
• Sardinia, Italy – fava beans, chickpeas, white beans
• Loma Linda, California – pinto and black beans among a diverse mix of legumes

In each of these places, beans are part of daily meals, often enjoyed in soups, stews, or salads, alongside whole grains and fresh vegetables. These meals aren’t elaborate or expensive — they’re built on affordable, accessible ingredients prepared with care and shared with others.

“Combined with seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and beans dominate Blue Zones meals all year long.” — Blue Zones Food Guidelines

The Science Behind Beans and Longevity

Eating beans regularly doesn’t just fill you up — it actively supports your body’s health in ways that help you live longer. Here’s how:

1. Protects Your Heart

Beans are high in soluble fiber, which helps lower LDL cholesterol — the “bad” cholesterol linked to heart disease.

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, and studies show that eating more legumes — like beans — in place of red meat can help lower key risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure (Harvard Nutrition Source).

2. Balances Blood Sugar

Because beans digest slowly, they prevent blood sugar spikes and improve insulin sensitivity. This makes them especially important for diabetes prevention and management (American Diabetes Association).

3. Fights Inflammation

Beans contain antioxidants and plant compounds like polyphenols and saponins, which have been shown to help reduce chronic inflammation — a factor linked to aging and many diseases (NIH).

4. Supports Gut Health

The fiber in beans acts as a prebiotic, feeding beneficial gut bacteria. A healthy gut microbiome improves immunity, digestion, and even mood — all linked to longer, healthier lives.

5. Aids in Weight Management

Beans are nutrient-dense yet low in calories, helping you feel full while supporting a healthy weight — a major factor in overall longevity.

• A meta-analysis found that for every 20 grams of legumes per day (roughly two tablespoons), there is an associated 7-8% lower risk of death from all causes (Lukus et al., 2020, NIH PMC).
• Many people in Blue Zones eat a full cup of beans daily, which compounds these benefits even further.

Why Beans Are the Longevity Superfood

Beans are celebrated in every Blue Zone because they’re both nutritious and practical:

• Plant-Based Protein: A filling, nutrient-rich alternative to meat.
• Fiber-Rich: Supports digestion, heart health, and stable blood sugar.
• Micronutrient-Packed: Loaded with folate, iron, potassium, and magnesium.
• Affordable & Accessible: Nutritious meals don’t have to be expensive.
• Versatile Comfort: Cook once and enjoy beans all week — in soups, salads, tacos, or bowls — bringing hearty flavor and soul to kitchens everywhere.

Blue Zone–Inspired Recipes with Camellia Beans

Bring the power of the Blue Zones into your own kitchen with these flavorful, bean-forward recipes:

Mediterranean Bowl

A vibrant mix of beans, grains, and fresh vegetables.

Tuna White Bean Salad

A classic Mediterranean-inspired dish that’s light yet filling.

Peas & Greens Trio Bowl

A colorful, nutrient-packed bowl combining peas, leafy greens, and Camellia beans for a fresh, hearty meal.

Red Bean Goat Cheese Mediterranean Salad

Creamy goat cheese, beans, and vibrant veggies combine for a refreshing, easy Mediterranean-style dish.

Instant Pot Black Beans

Hearty, quick, and a great base or side to build many meals around.

Q&A: Beans & Longevity

Q: How many servings of beans should I eat each day?

A: Research shows that eating about one cup of beans per day is a common habit in Blue Zones — regions where people live the longest. Even smaller amounts, like 20 grams per day (about two tablespoons), have been linked to significant health benefits (Lukus et al., 2020, NIH PMC).

Q: How can I bring the Blue Zone lifestyle into my own diet?

A: Start small by adding beans to your meals each day and pairing them with whole foods like vegetables, grains, and healthy fats. Just as important, share those meals with friends and family—because connection and community are essential to a long, fulfilling life.

Q: Do beans really lower disease risk?

A: Yes. Beans help lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and support gut health. These factors combined can significantly lower the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

Q: What types of beans do people in the Blue Zones eat?

A: It varies by region, but beans are always central to meals:

• Ikaria, Greece: Black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans, lentils
• Okinawa, Japan: Soybeans (tofu, miso, edamame)
• Nicoya, Costa Rica: Black beans
• Sardinia, Italy: Fava beans, chickpeas, white beans
• Loma Linda, California: A variety, often pinto and black beans

If there is a restaurant known for both its adherence to tradition and innovation in the culinary and hospitality world, it’s Commander’s Palace.

Guests know when they go to the restaurant, the menu will have turtle soup au sherry, shrimp and tasso Henican, eggs Sardou and Creole bread pudding soufflé, among the offerings. But they also know that new dishes, in keeping with the restaurant’s practice of allowing its chefs — which included legends Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse — to add unique flavors to the menu.

So, when COOLinary, an event that happens throughout August featuring New Orleans restaurants, Commander’s Palace Executive Chef Meg Bickford got busy dreaming up some new dishes.

The Cochon de Lait Tostada

The result? Among them, the Cochon de Lait Tostada, a dish that has been on the restaurant’s menu in other variations, but now it had a Bickford twist.

This multi-layered iteration consists of garlic- and hot sauce-rubbed fall apart 18-hour smoked pork shoulder on a crisp tortilla with smoky boudin, creamy red bean purée, pickled corn and okra chow chow, crumbled Cotija and charred poblano aioli.

Not only does the red bean purée made from Camellia Red Kidney Beans act as the foundation of the dish — and contributes a “rich, earthy flavor,” says Bickford — it is a great sauce to dip and mix the dish’s other ingredients into. It is also a time-tested Commander’s Palace recipe.

“We braise the red beans with tons of andouille and house-made tasso,” says Bickford. “Then we puree the whole thing with pickled okra and roasted garlic. We’ll add a mound of butter into it so it’s nice, shiny and silky.”

“It’s just phenomenal … I could eat with just a spoon!”

Camellia Beans: An Essential Ingredient

Bickford, whose family is from Cut Off and New Orleans, grew up well-versed in south Louisiana cuisine, “Both my parents cooked, kind of everybody in my family cooks. It’s a rite of passage.”

“We always had Camellia Beans in the pantry. And no matter where we lived, we always used Camellia Beans.”

“It’s a very consistent product. They’re very clean, which a lot of people don’t think about. But when you’re not finding rocks or sand in your beans, it’s a big deal,” she says.

“It also goes beyond brand recognition … you want to use a local product, and that product proves itself to be superior.”

Rich and Buttery

Camellia Red Kidney Beans are also used for the red beans and rice made for the staff meal on Monday.

“Serving red beans and rice every Monday is more than just a meal — it’s a tradition rooted deep in New Orleans culture. It’s how we start the week together, just like families have done here for generations,” says Bickford. “Around that pot of beans, our team becomes a family, sharing stories, laughter and the spirit of this city we love.”

Everyone in the kitchen takes turns making the family meal — for Commander’s Palace, it’s all part of working as a team and part of its culture.

Another bean Bickford is a fan of is the Camellia Cannellini Beans for the garlic-braised white beans, served with a pork tenderloin.

Bickford favors these beans because they are “super rich and buttery, and it kind of gives this nutty flavor a little.”

She also features the cannellini bean in the heartier white bean cassoulet available at the restaurant’s Le Petit Bleu, its Parisian-style cafe next door highlighted inside and out by the restaurant’s signature color, Commander’s blue.

Rooted in New Orleans culture, the restaurant’s use of local Camellia beans — from red beans to cannellini beans — honors heritage, quality and good food not just for COOLinary, but all year long.

Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Ave., NOLA 70130; 504.899.8221; commanderspalace.com/ ; on Instagram.

Reading together, like cooking together, creates lasting memories. And just like a pot of red beans, stories have the power to bring people closer. Whether it’s Monday night or any night of the week, here are some delightful children’s books that celebrate Louisiana’s food, culture, and community.

Red Beans and Rice for Dinner by Jayda Atkinson

A heartwarming story that celebrates the joy of cooking, sharing meals, and showing kindness—reminding readers that food is one of the sweetest ways to bring people together.

Red Beans & Rice by Jeanette Weiland

Join Magnolia Rose and her friends on a visit to Grandma Bee and Grandpa Pepper’s farm, where they discover how their favorite meals, including red beans and rice, go from farm to table with love and care.

Today Is Monday in Louisiana by Johnette Downing

Based on a popular children’s song, this rhythmic read takes kids through Louisiana’s weekly culinary traditions—starting with, you guessed it, red beans and rice on Monday. It’s a delightful introduction to the state’s rich food culture.

Gaston® Goes to Mardi Gras by James Rice

Follow Gaston the green-nosed alligator as he parades through Mardi Gras, celebrating the rich foods and festivities of Louisiana, including a big pot of red beans.

The Runaway Beignet by Connie Morgan

In this whimsical tale, a magical beignet comes to life and leads a wild chase through the French Quarter, capturing the playful spirit of New Orleans along with favorite foods like red beans and rice.

A Mardi Gras Dictionary by Beverly Vidrine

This alphabet book introduces children to the unique language of New Orleans’ Carnival season, featuring terms and traditions, including the classic red beans and rice.

Max the Cajun Puppy by Rob Butler 

Join Max, the Cajun puppy, on his adventures through Louisiana, where he encounters the state’s rich culture and cuisine, with red beans and rice making a delicious appearance.

Keep the Tradition Alive

Whether you’re in Louisiana or celebrating from afar, Red Beans Monday is a chance to gather, cook, share stories, and make memories. These books are a perfect way to pass down culture, spark curiosity, and bring generations together—one story, one meal, and one Monday at a time.

Defying gravity, Galliano’s Pork Chop LaPlace is a study in vertical culinary construction: a base of red beans, then cornbread and ham hock dressing, topped with an andouille-stuffed Berkshire pork chop (cold smoked and grilled), upon which three onion rings are carefully placed, then finished with a “tiger sauce.”

It has probably given a few diners pause on how to start eating; nevertheless, it is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.

A Cajun Concept Restaurant

Located in the Warehouse District, Galliano opened in December 2016 as a “very casual Cajun concept,” says co-owner Manny Pineda. When COVID-19 hit in early 2020 and the restaurant lost a steady customer base from the nearby Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the decision was made to revamp the menu offerings.

“I am a fine dining brat,” admits Pineda, who worked his way through college at a number of fine-dining establishments in New Orleans, including Emeril’s. It was there that he met Chef Ricky Cheramie, with whom he and a business partner opened Restaurant Rebirth, a Creole-and Cajun-inspired farm-to-table restaurant. Later, he opened Galliano on the same city block.

For the new Galliano menu, Pineda and Cheramie harkened back to their fine dining backgrounds and added traditional homestyle Cajun dishes with a few twists — such as the Pork Chop LaPlace, a Cheramie creation.

But even with this menu elevation, traditional dishes such as red beans and rice are on the menu – alongside jambalaya, gumbo, blackened Gulf fish, and others.

The restaurant also focuses on local sourcing, such as Camellia Red Red Kidney Beans – for Pork Chop LaPlace, as well as the traditional red beans and rice offering.

Traditional Red Beans & Rice: How They Make It 

“We start with the trinity [onion, bell peppers, celery]. Add all the seasonings such as Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic Cajun Seasonings, paprika, and cook it all down,” says Pineda. “We add a little bit of ham hock in there, some andouille sausage, cook it some, then throw in the Camellia red beans,” which have been soaking overnight.

“Chicken stock is added, then bay leaves, and it is all cooked down to the right consistency.”

What is the “secret” ingredient? “We add a couple of smoked pork chops in, while the red beans are cooking down,” says Pineda.

Once the pork chops are done, and the chef pulls them out, the meat basically falls off the bone. It is then chopped and mixed back into the red beans to cook further. When finished, the red beans are served with Louisiana long-grain rice.

It all combines into a hearty dish, one that has its roots firmly in Galliano, the town in southeast Louisiana that Cheramie hails from.  

Galliano, 200 Julia St., gallianorestaurant.com; on Instagram; Mon.-Sat. 5 p.m.-10 p.m.

Photo: Kat Kimball

Elevating the Meat-and-Three

Like many beloved Southern restaurants, Hot Stuff may look like an unassuming building on the outside with a smoker in the parking lot — but on the inside, a culinary party is waiting to start.

Nathan Barfield, the co-owner of Hot Stuff, wanted to open a “meat-and-three” restaurant – an old school, Southern, cafeteria-style plate lunch spot centered around the tradition of one meat accompanied by three sides and bread.

It’s a style of restaurant found across the South, though mostly outside of New Orleans. But at Hot Stuff, the concept has found a new home.

The menu features meats that include fried chicken, hamburger steak au poivre, Mississippi pot roast, and smoked chicken wings with pineapple habanero white barbecue sauce. Daily specials include New Orleans’ favorite Monday dish, red beans and rice

Photo: Kat Kimball

A Monday Must: Red Beans and Rice

Barfield starts his red beans by soaking the beans overnight. When it’s time to make the beans, he adds the Trinity (bell pepper, onion and celery) to another pot, and sautés it in vegetable oil until soft. Then comes the Creole seasoning, Crystal Hot Sauce, black pepper, salt, red beans and usually a smoked meat.

“It could be a ham hock, or any of the trim when we smoke ribs — in general, some sort of smoked pork,” says Barfield, adding that sometimes it could contain just one type of pork, or a mixture of all three, giving each Monday’s offering a slightly different flavor, but still consistent in taste.

Rather than adding smoked sausage during the cooking process, he instead adds Conecuh sausage on top when serving. Diners can also request the red beans and rice with a piece of chicken or a pork chop.

Barfield, a native of Monroeville, Alabama, learned how to make red beans and rice when he moved to New Orleans. He worked at The High Hat Café, followed by a stint at Turkey and the Wolf. There, he met Hot Stuff’s co-owner Mason Hereford, and the duo came up with the idea for the restaurant.

Barfield only uses Camellia Red Kidney Beans for the dish, as well as the company’s Blackeye Peas for one of the restaurant’s vegan sides.

“It’s the standard. They’re good,” he says, about Camellia Beans. “With other beans, you have to sort through them to see if there are rocks and other things. In the years I have been cooking, I have never had a bad bag of beans. It gives me peace of mind knowing I can just open the bag to use it, and it’s good.”

Photo: Kat Kimball

An Homage to Southern and New Orleans Culture

The attention to detail can also be found in the décor of Barfield’s restaurant with its homage to Southern and New Orleans culture. A Mardi Gras Indian suit from the 9th Ward Seminole tribe, sewn and worn by one of the restaurant’s cooks, Durel Randall, is one of the first things you see upon entering the restaurant.

Photo: Kat Kimball

The back patio — its Southern shack feel adorned with old signs, including one from Bojangle’s — is Barfield’s pièce de résistance. “I like to say it’s like your redneck uncle got hit by a bus, finally got his insurance payout, and he needed to spruce up the area where he drank his beers.”

Hot Stuff, 7507 Maple St.; Mon, Wed, Thurs, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri and Sat. 11 a.m. – Midnight, Sun. 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; hotstuffneworleans.com; @hotstuffneworleans.

And though — or perhaps, because of — being a time-tested dish, red beans and rice can show up on menus in interesting ways, showcasing new ideas.

A Bean-Based Cocktail That Breaks All Rules

At Muy Pwa in Beanlandia, Chef Maya Mastersson concocts not one, but two new red beans and rice variations, and even a cocktail.

That’s right, a red beans and rice cocktail. Consisting of toasted rice-infused mezcal, “trinity” bitters and a red bean syrup that Mastersson makes, it’s finished with Tony Chachere’s on the rim and a specialty ice cube — another Mastersson creation — that has red beans, rice and a bay leaf in it.

“It’s a savory drink,” says Mastersson, adding, “Every cocktail, every dish has at least one bean type in it,” about the restaurant’s offerings.

When Mastersson opened Muy Pwa in Beanlandia in early October 2024, her goal was a menu focusing on beans, as Beanlandia is a community center and museum founded by the Krewe of Red Beans, renowned for its Lundi Gras march wearing bean-adorned costumes, as well as its philanthropic activities such as Feed the Second Line.

From Sicily to New Orleans: The Art of Bean-Based Innovation

“We were excited to find a creative and unique chef to bring on like Maya. She’s a great fit in our little bean universe,” says Krewe of Red Beans and Beanlandia founder Devin De Wulf.

To create this bean-centric menu, Mastersson did extensive research about New Orleans cuisine, as well as global flavors. “I wanted it to be a cohesive menu with a theme … without it being all over the place,” she says.

Mastersson submerged herself “in the history of beans, the science of beans … how they grow, what cultures use them, how they use them, how they are eating them … things like that.”

Mastersson aimed to source locally or close by, which led her to use Camellia Beans, which in addition to its red kidney beans, she uses the white beans, black beans and black-eyed peas.

Among the menu’s highlights is the red beans and rice arancini, which is a blend of two culinary traditions: New Orleans’ favorite Monday dish and arancini, a rice ball that is stuffed, coated in breadcrumbs, then deep-fried which has its origin in Sicily.

“At its base,” Mastersson says about the dish, “it is literally a fried ball of red beans and rice.”

She starts by making the red beans, then when done, adds rice to that same pot. While the rice cooks, it absorbs most of that liquid, a vegetable stock made with leftover scraps accumulated during prep.

Nutritional yeast is added “to give it that meaty, umami flavor,” she says.

Sweet, Savory, and Everything in Between

The rice ends up very soft, making it easier to make into small balls. She freezes them — to hold the shape — before they are breaded and fried to order. Served with a Crystal remoulade sauce to add a little bit of kick, it is crunchy on the outside, full of red beans and rice flavor on the inside.

It is a vegan dish, says Mastersson, but it still has a smoky flavor due to the liquid smoke she adds, not due to a smoked meat often found in traditional red beans and rice.

The Azuki red beans and rice ice cream is her other culinary spin on this dish. The red beans are cooked in milk, and while doing that, she makes a custard. She adds that to the red beans, then blends it into an ice cream, making it very rich, says Mastersson.

“I wanted the menu to be a multicultural celebration of the legume,” she says. And at Muy Pwa, Mastersson does just that.

*Muy Pwa, at Beanlandia, 3300 Royal St., kreweofredbeans.org; Hours: Wed.-Sun., 5 p.m.-9 p.m.*

New Orleans is famous for its music, festivals, and of course—its food. And no visit to the Big Easy is complete without a comforting bowl of red beans & rice. Whether you’re in town for a weekend getaway, a festival, or just craving the flavors of Louisiana, these local favorites serve up some of the best bowls in the city.

Check out a few of our top picks:

Mother’s

The origin of the red beans and rice recipe at Mother’s starts with the founders, Simon and Mary “Mother” Landry, who opened the business in 1938 and fed the neighborhood’s longshoremen, warehouse workers, and others looking for hearty New Orleans dishes.

Mother’s Restaurant, 401 Poydras Street, www.mothersrestaurant.net, (504) 523-9656. Hours: 7 days, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

Li’l Dizzy’s

At Li’l Dizzy’s, the red beans are served only on Mondays and usually sell out. Customers can thank head chef John Cannon (who some may know for playing the tuba in the Stooges Brass Band) for the delicious dish.

Li’l Dizzy’s, 1500 Esplanade Ave., lildizzyscafe.net; on Instagram; (504) 766-8687; Mon-Sat. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Dooky Chase

Edgar Chase IV learned how to make red beans & rice from his grandmother, Leah Chase. Known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine, Leah and her culinary skills brought people from across the globe to Dooky Chase.

Dooky Chase, 2301 Orleans Ave, dookychaserestaurants.com; on Instagram; (504) 821-0600; Lunch, Tuesday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m; Dinner Fridays and Saturdays Only, 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Creole Queen

Relax during a 2-hour cruise on the Mississippi River while enjoying the Creole Queen Paddlewheeler’s vegan red beans & rice. The delicious dish is available on their brunch and dinner Mississippi River cruises leaving from New Orleans Spanish Plaza.

Creole Queen, Spanish Plaza, New Orleans, tickets/reservations, 504.587.1719 or 1.800.445.4109; creolequeen.com

Katie’s

Katie’s owner Scott Craig shares that he makes his red beans and rice like he makes his greens —with a lot of meat. “I like to use smoked sausage and pickled meats, sometimes I’ll add turkey necks or other meats, anything that will bring it flavor,” he says.

Katie’s Restaurant and Bar, 3701 Iberville St., katiesinmidcity.com; on Instagram; 504.488.6582. Hours: Mon.-Thus. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Liuzza’s

Many like to enjoy Liuzza’s classic red beans & rice alongside the restaurant’s signature 18 oz. goblets of frosty cold beers — or an Abita root beer. Delish!

Liuzza’s Restaurant and Bar, 3636 Bienville St., New Orleans; liuzzas.com; Hours: Mon. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tues. Closed; Weds. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Thurs.-Sat.11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Heard Dat Kitchen

What is Chef Jeffrey Heard’s secret to his red beans & rice? Don’t rush the beans. “I found slow cooking them on that real low fire is what really will make them creamy.”

Heard Dat Kitchen, 2520 Felicity St., (504) 510-4248, @hearddat on Instagram, heardatkitchen.com. Hours: Mon. – Sat., 11 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a local looking for your next bowl, these spots are sure to satisfy your red beans & rice craving.

Where have you bean? Share your favorite NOLA spots with us on social!

It’s Monday morning at 3 Southern Girls, and customers are starting to drop in, looking for their favorite dish. It might be a stuffed bell pepper, turkey necks, a fried catfish plate, gumbo, or as it is the traditional day for it — red beans and rice, served with pickled pork, potato salad, and cornbread.

It’s the type of comfort food that reminds you of home.

And that’s just how owner Gabrielle Smith likes it. 3 Southern Girls is all about food and family, which also includes the neighborhood’s residents — and fans near and far — who have embraced the restaurant.

How 3 Southern Girls Came to Be
Located in Jefferson, 3 Southern Girls is a result of Gabrielle’s dream, hard work, and faith.

While the restaurant business is part of the family’s heritage — her grandmother owned Ebony’s and Maxine’s in Shrewsbury (in Jefferson Parish) — Gabrielle isn’t a formally trained chef and had never worked in a full-service restaurant. But she wanted to share her love of food with others, praying fervently before making the decision to open a restaurant. “God said it was going to work,” she told her father, just before she signed the lease for the restaurant’s building.

She opened on Feb. 29, 2020. The restaurant had just started to hit its stride when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and restaurants closed.

It was another test of faith. And Gabrielle persevered.

A Red Beans & Rice Recipe Inspired by Her Grandmother

Today, 3 Southern Girls is a mainstay, and while the red beans and rice is a Monday special, it’s also available every day with smoked sausage.

“Typically, I’m going to soak my beans the night before. So when I come in the morning, it’s two hours max for my cooking time,” says Gabrielle.

After she arrives, the beans are drained, and the pot is filled back up with water. It is then put on high heat for the first hour.

“That second hour, I’m going to add my dry ingredients, my bay leaf with a little chicken flavor, as well as add garlic powder, onion powder, and other seasonings.”

Traditionally, many chefs add the trinity — bell pepper, onion, celery — at the start of the cooking process. Gabrielle takes a different tack; in the last 30 minutes of cooking, she adds these ingredients raw – not cooked or sautéed.

“My grandmother taught me to finish with your fresh seasoning — not start with it,” she says.

It’s something, she notes, that is hard for people to understand. “When you start cooking with all your seasonings, everything cooks out of your pot. But if you finish with it, everything’s still there,” she explains, referencing the flavor.

Another essential ingredient she uses is Camellia Brand Red Kidneys beans and the brand’s Lima beans (butter beans) for other dishes.

“I’m going to stick to what I know works,” she says. “And I just feel like when you’re talking about beans, it’s what you are raised on. I’ve never seen any other kind of beans in our house.”

Who are the 3 Southern Girls — the ladies illustrated in the restaurant logo? The name was dreamed up in honor of Gabrielle and her two sisters, who don’t work at the restaurant, but like Gabrielle’s customers, appreciate her delicious food. Because it’s just like being home

3 Southern Girls, 4402 Jefferson Highway, (504) 381-4276; Facebook: @3SouthernGirls504; Instagram: @3SouthernGirls_; Hours: Mon-Fri. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

When it comes to red beans and rice, there are traditionalists who say that some sort of meat, preferably ham, pickled ham, or smoked sausage, has to be part of the recipe. The crew at Creole Queen Paddlewheeler would beg to differ; it serves vegan red beans and rice. “It’s super creamy and flavorful,” says Creole Queen Food and Beverage Manager Tydra Ekeh, noting it reminds her of her grandmother’s red beans at Sunday dinner. “It’s a delicious and healthy alternative to the meat options,” she adds. Made with Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, the dish is also practical. It is the only vegan offering on the Creole Queen and is soy- and gluten-free, catering to those with food allergies.

A Nostalgic Dish on the Mighty Mississippi
Prepared off-premises by Pigéon Catering using a Creole Queen recipe, the dish is available on brunch and dinner Mississippi River cruises leaving from New Orleans Spanish Plaza. In keeping with the nostalgic feel of the paddlewheel, the red beans and rice are another link to an earlier era. According to Susan Tucker’s New Orleans Cuisine, red beans have always been “a cultural phenomenon, a tradition dating back for hundreds of years.”

Red Beans & Rice and Historical Sights
Passengers enjoy the vegan red beans and rice while sitting in one of the paddlewheeler’s dining areas during the scenic five-mile route along the river. Between the red beans and the views, one can experience a meaningful connection to New Orleans’ rich history, seeing modern cityscapes alongside historical sights, while enjoying a dish as ubiquitous a symbol of New Orleans as the fleur-de-lis.

Launched in 1983, the Creole Queen is a replica of an authentic 19th-century paddlewheeler, and Captain Brian Clesi has been at the helm since 2005. The boat has a diesel-electric engine to power the stern paddlewheel, a big difference from those that plied the river in the 19th century. These boats were first introduced in 1811 by Robert Fulton, Robert R. Livingston, and Nicholas Roosevelt.

It’s hard not to imagine Mark Twain on a paddlewheeler back in the day, savoring the red beans and rice, much like today’s families, couples, and travelers do on the Creole Queen. After all, it’s a culinary rite as common as Carnival.

Creole Queen: Spanish Plaza, New Orleans, tickets/reservations, 504.587.1719 or 1.800.445.4109; creolequeen.com;

Bienvenue Means “Welcome” in French

It’s those personal touches that make Bienvenue — which means “welcome” in French — a great addition to the roster of classic, old school, New Orleans neighborhood restaurants.

Open since 2018, Bienvenue offers a menu that’s a creative mix of American/Southern cuisine and traditional New Orleans dishes. Almond-crusted gulf shrimp and filet mignon are served right alongside po-boys and red beans & rice.

Red Beans & Rice: A Classic Slow-Cooked Recipe

What type of beans does Bienvenue use? Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, of course.

That’s the way it has always been. The current chef, Matthew Knoff, uses a classic recipe developed when the restaurant opened.

As per Bienvenue custom, the beans are soaked in water for 24 hours, and “I season them while they soak,” says Knoff. He adds bay leaves and some other spices, which he says are a “secret.”

When the 24 hours are up, the mixture is cooked over a low flame.

Knoff then chops green peppers, red peppers, and onions, and adds them to a pan in which he has cooked smoked sausage and bacon, adding more bacon grease as needed. When completed, this mixture is added to the beans.

The Result is Creamy Red Bean Goodness

Five hours later, the result is creamy red bean goodness. Knoff says cooking the red beans slowly for a long time is the key to the right consistency. “We don’t want something with chunks of vegetables,” adds the chef.

Knoff cooks red beans twice a week, batching them for future servings. Capella guesses they get about 150 servings per batch, or 20 quarts. The red beans are served with rice and a Patton’s hot sausage patty, though Capella noted they can be served with chicken or grilled shrimp, as one customer prefers. The final touch is a slice of Gendusa’s bread on the side.

You’ll Also Find Red Beans in the Big Easy Wrap

The red beans also find their way into the restaurant’s Big Easy Wrap – a combination of red beans, rice, fried chicken tenders, smoked sausage, provolone cheese, and an in-house “tiger” sauce.

New Orleans’ Favorite Comfort Food

Knoff, who has been the chef at the restaurant for just a few months, is originally from the Northeast. He had his first taste of red beans and rice in 2009, and liked it, noting he understands the local love for the dish. Comparing it to a favorite comfort food from his neck of the woods, he adds, “It’s kind of like eating mashed potatoes and gravy to me.”

After all, red beans and rice is comfort food that’s right at home in New Orleans.

Bienvenue, 467 Hickory Ave., Harahan; (504) 305-4792; bienvenueharahan.com; Hours: Mon.-Thus. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.- 8 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat. 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; Sunday brunch 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

It started with a tortilla.

Then a pupusa, followed by a birria taco and ultimately a Central American restaurant with a full menu.

But first, that tortilla.

Mawi Tortillerias on January 8, 2024. Photo by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee rhrphoto.com

Expanding Their Tortilla Empire

Will Avelar started Mawi Tortilla with his father Carlos and brother Fernando in 2017 as a wholesale tortilla bakery.

During COVID-19, Mawi Tortilla business was down due to most restaurants’ reduced operations, so the company began making and selling pupusas (inspired by Carlos, who is from El Salvador) and then birria tacos, which went viral on Instagram.

“Since then, we realized this location would probably benefit more from doing retail food than just wholesale tortillas,” says Will. The production of tortillas is now in Kenner.

The Spotted Rooster Rice

One of the restaurant’s popular dishes is Gallo Pinto, which translates roughly as “spotted rooster.”

The restaurant likes to use Camellia Brand small red beans or small black beans to make the Costa Rican-style rice and beans dish.

A New Orleans native, Will spent time in Costa Rica, where his mother’s family lives. In Costa Rica, “black beans are a big part of their rice dish,” he states in a Camellia Beans video. “Most Costa Rican homes have a pot of Gallo Pinto and rice. It’s that much of a staple item that you always have it.”

Crafting the Gallo Pinto

The dish starts by boiling the beans. “You can soak them to speed up the process, but it’s not necessary,” says Will.

“From there, you take the cooked beans and strain the liquid, but keep it. Then in another pot — or once you’ve cleaned out the same pot — you sweat the aromatics like onion, bell pepper, garlic, and cilantro in olive oil or butter,” he says.

“Add uncooked rice, toasting it a little bit, then add the bean liquid to cook the rice, and add the cooked beans, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Taste the liquid to ensure the seasoning is good,” he says.

“Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.”

Gallo Pinto pops up as a special, sometimes as part of a Costa Rican-style breakfast served with eggs, cheese, some sort of protein, and plantains.

Red Beans Versatility

The restaurant also uses small red kidney beans to make refried beans and sopa de frijoles, a traditional bean soup, which is cooked with fried pork rinds and served with rice, boiled eggs, and avocado.

Another specialty that is more New Orleans in style, but with a Central American twist, is the restaurant’s version of red beans and rice, served on Mondays as a special.

It starts as traditional red beans and rice, prepared using Camellia Red Kidney beans and using the “trinity” (celery, onions, bell pepper), garlic and bay leaf. But it is a meatless version, made as a “way to cater to our guests who want a meatless option,” says Avelar.

A new addition are the sides of two pupusas served with curtido [pickled cabbage] and salsa, which “are two things you must have when eating pupusas,” says Avelar.

Freshly sliced avocado is also added, which may seem unusual. But there is a reason.

“My father always adds avocado to any beans he’s eating so I thought of putting that on our red beans and rice as something that our guests would like to try because it’s unique to the way he eats his beans.”

Avelar said he created this dish with the purpose of connecting both Louisiana and El Salvador on one plate.

“It represents traditions I identify with in my cooking and upbringing,” he says.

Blending Culinary Influences

If Will Avelar’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he has been involved in four of Chef Emeril Lagasse’s restaurants, working his way up through the ranks of Emeril’s, NOLA, Delmonico, and finally, as the opening chef for Meril. In addition to running Mawi Tortillas, he recently became the corporate chef for Hufft Marchand Hospitality.

“It’s the flavors that I’m familiar with, techniques I grew up learning in my career, but also incorporating that into the traditional foods that we have in Central America,” Will says of Mawi Tortilla’s dishes. He likes to experiment — crawfish pupusas, for example — but also keeps traditional favorites on the menu, sometimes adding a bit of Louisiana flair with Camellia Beans.

Mawi Tortillas, 5050 W. Esplanade, Metairie, mawinola.com, on Instagram, (504) 644.2624, Mon. – Sat. 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Mondays at Katie’s are pretty much like any other day of the week: the tables and bar are filled with moms, dads, uncles, aunts, maw maws and paw paws. You’ll likely find lifelong friends comparing notes about Saints’ games, soccer teammates from a nearby school, and co-workers – all gathered in what feels like a New Orleans culinary clubhouse.

But there’s one notable difference on Mondays: red beans and rice is on the menu.

And keeping an eye on it all is owner Scot Craig.

A Culinary Awakening in Gentilly

Craig discovered cooking as a boy growing up in Gentilly, finding his culinary awakening in the kitchens of his Creole neighbors.

He explains his interest this way: “We’d be out playing, I’d stop in the kitchens [of friends and neighbors] and ask, ‘What are you cooking there?’”

“I’d talk to them about it. I learned a lot from the Creole ladies while growing up in that neighborhood,” he says, crediting them with his red beans and rice recipe.

“I learned how to make it right,” he notes, admitting that in the process, he also found out how to make it wrong.

“It’s about getting that creamy texture that’s so important,” Craig says. And for that, he credits soaking Camellia Red Kidney Beans.

“I’ve tried to use other [company’s] red beans, and they just don’t cook the same,” he says. “Other beans are harder, and they don’t absorb water the same.”

Plus, Craig adds, “I never saw anything but Camellia beans in a Creole lady’s house.”

Meats Bring the Flavor

Craig shares that he makes his red beans and rice like he makes his greens —with a lot of meat.

“I like to use smoked sausage and pickled meats, sometimes I’ll add turkey necks or other meats, anything that will bring it flavor,” he says. “But most importantly, smoked ham hocks and chunks of ham.”
The red beans begin soaking on Saturday, with the cooking process starting on Sunday.

Craig — or Chef Joey Trippi — starts with the traditional trinity of chopped celery, bell pepper and onion and cooks it down in butter, then adds it to the soaked red beans. Next are the bay leaf, butter, water, and the meats.

“We let it cook down,” he says, with the red beans ready on Monday for the first lunch order.
In addition to rice, patrons can have red beans with a smoked and grilled sausage link or hot sausage patty, fried chicken (available for dinner only), fried or grilled pork chops, or Andouille sausage.

A Special Creation

There is one red beans and rice creation that Craig says came together after a number of cocktails: the red beans and rice po-boy.

“It’s freaking incredible,” he says about this once-in-a-blue-moon special.

“You put a layer of mayonnaise and ketchup on the bottom with a layer of cooked red beans,” he says. “Then you add a real crispy hot sausage. I like hot sausage. And then you finish it on top with a little bit of red beans with some rice. It’s killer.”

Katie’s Restaurant and Bar, 3701 Iberville St., katiesinmidcity.com; on Instagram; 504.488.6582. Hours: Mon.-Thus. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Shrimp and White Bean Soup

The combination of shrimp, beans, and bold Louisiana flavors makes this creamy, hearty soup a favorite of Camellia’s CEO Vince Hayward. Stock up on Cannellini Beans, and whip up a bowl of this beloved regional dish using our top-quality cannellini beans. It’s a warming, satisfying meal with deep roots in Louisiana culinary traditions.

White Bean Soup with Tasso, Winter Squash, and Chard

Whip up a comforting one-pot white bean soup with smoky tasso ham, earthy winter squash, and fresh Swiss chard. Both seasoned cooks and kitchen novices will appreciate how easy it is to make this soup packed with big, soul-warming flavor.

Creamy Bean and Collard Greens Soup

This comforting Southern-style soup featuring creamy beans and collard greens is perfect for a cold day. Be sure to have fresh French bread to dip into the rich, velvety broth. The rich and smooth soup will make even the chilliest day feel cozy.

Ham Hock and White Bean Stew

White beans and ham hocks create a perfect flavor combination in this warm, nourishing stew. The unique smokiness of the ham infuses the beans with a rich, savory taste. With its melded flavors, this hearty dish is the ultimate cold-weather meal.

Appalachian Soup Beans

Slow-cooked to perfection with a captivating ensemble of spices, this soul-warming dish, crowned with crisped bacon, invites you to savor the rich Appalachian flavors. Pair it with chowchow and cornbread to taste mountain kitchen traditions and shared table moments.

The “Biggest Fan” Gift Box

For the home cook or Camellia fan, The “Biggest Fan” Gift Box ($55.95) has everything they need to craft delicious bean dishes. The package includes a variety of Camellia’s most popular beans, like Black Eye Peas, Large Lima Beans, and Red Kidney Beans, along with spices, kitchen accessories like a towel, oven mitt, and spoon, and fun extras like stickers and a tote bag – the perfect gift for the bean enthusiast in your life!

The “Welcome Home” Gift Box

Hosting for the holidays? The “Welcome Home” Gift Box ($75.95) has all the essentials for welcoming guests with open arms. Two mugs, a handy apron, a kitchen towel, and Camellia’s signature dried beans and seasoning make it easy to cook up cozy, comforting meals. The tote bag and gift box add a thoughtful touch they will appreciate.

The “Seasoned Greetings” Gift Box

For something affordable yet still packed with Camellia goodness, there’s The “Seasoned Greetings” Gift Box ($35.95). It contains several of Camellia’s choice bean varieties and spices, alongside useful kitchen tools like a towel and spoon. The tote bag and gift packaging spread holiday cheer.

Give the Gift of Quality and Flavor

All three boxes contain a selection of incredible high-quality Camellia beans, responsibly sourced and packed with flavor. The spices add a kick of flavor that complements the beans perfectly. Useful kitchen accessories, fun extras, and charming gift packaging make these boxes a delightful gift for anyone on your list.

White beans come in many shapes and sizes, and when a recipe calls for simply “white beans,” it can be challenging to figure out which kind to use, especially when deciding between Great Northern beans and Cannellini beans. Although these two types of white beans are similar, they have crucial differences regarding flavor and texture. Luckily for you, we’re experts on all things beans. Here’s what you need to know to decide which beans to use and when.

White Bean History

Cannellini beans originated in Argentina but are much better known for their use in Italy. In central and southern Italy, Cannellini beans are a staple in countless traditional dishes. Great Northern beans gained popularity in the Pacific Northwest region of America and took their name from the Great Northern Railway. This now-defunct railroad helped to distribute these beans across the United States.

Great Northern Beans

Great Northern beans are highly versatile with a delicate, nutty flavor and delicate, creamy texture. Camellia Brand CEO Vince Hayward likes Great Northern beans for their creaminess, stating, “One of my most favorite dishes is shrimp and white beans – a creamy, thick, delicious shrimp-flavored dish that brings back memories of my mother’s home cooking and warm bowls of beans on cold winter nights.” Great Northerns work well in American classics like baked beans, chili, and succotash, although they can be used in almost any recipe calling for white beans.

Cafe Reconcile’s White Beans and Shrimp

Cannellini Beans

Cannellini Beans are larger and heartier than Great Northerns and are sometimes referred to as “white kidney beans” because of their traditional kidney shape. You’ll often find them mixed with pinto beans. Cannellini beans are commonly used in Italian dishes like cozy minestrone, and because they hold their shape well when cooked, they’re a favorite in soups and stews. Like Great Northerns, Cannellini beans cook creamy and smooth with a nutty flavor.

Which ones should I use?

Both options are great for almost any white bean recipe, but we like using Cannellinis in a pasta e fagioli, while we prefer Great Northern beans for dishes like shrimp and white bean soup or white beans and ham hock.

Pasta e Fagioli

Shrimp and White Bean Soup

Great Northern Beans and Ham

Camellia CEO Vince Hayward clarifies the difference:

“It rests primarily with the heartiness of the Cannellini over the Great Northern,” he explains. “Because of its thicker skin and slightly bolder bean taste, the Cannellini lends itself better towards soups and stews. The Great Northern is a bit more delicate, and breaks open more easily, lending itself towards bean dishes consumed directly from a bowl, or to using as an ingredient in baking, or just simply when a lighter texture is desired.”

Ultimately, the main differences come down to their origins, subtle differences in appearance, firmness and flavor, and how they are traditionally used in regional cuisines. Both Cannelinis and Great Northerns are tasty, nutritious white bean options!

When an Iconic Restaurant Changes Hands

It isn’t easy to open a restaurant, so imagine what it’s like to buy an established New Orleans neighborhood eatery where the regulars expect their favorite dishes in an atmosphere that is the same as it was when they originally walked through the doors. Which may have been 50 years ago.

“It’s both very exciting and daunting,” said George DeCastro, who bought Liuzza’s on Bienville in fall 2022 with Erin Clark and two partners in Miami.

“I have the opportunity to step into an iconic New Orleans restaurant and serve food to diners who have been coming here for generations,” he said. “To carry that torch and still be a part of the fabric of New Orleans culture carries great responsibilities.” DeCastro is mainly in the kitchen/back of house, while Clark runs the front of house.

They are familiar with the city: Clark and DeCastro were part of the crew that opened Finnegan’s Easy in the French Quarter. Both relocated to New Orleans when they bought Liuzza’s business, building, and recipes.

Liuzza’s Keeps it Old School with its Red Beans and Rice

Among the original recipes was red beans and rice.

“I found out when I came to New Orleans that locals are very particular with the food products they know and love,” said DeCastro. “They are a very knowledgeable group when it comes to traditional cuisine.”

And, of course, there was no changing up the recipe when it came to using Camellia Red Kidney beans.

In keeping with the Liuzza’s red beans tradition, the beans are rinsed, not soaked. They are put in a large kettle to which assorted meats such as homemade tasso and smoked sausage are added, as well as the “trinity” (onion, green peppers and celery), Creole seasoning, garlic and other ingredients.

“We just keep on tasting it to see if it’s the cleanest consistency that we want,” DeCastro said. “It usually comes out the same every time.”

The red beans are made in a large batch, then frozen in portions which are taken out as needed.

“Once it goes into the freezer, all the flavors and everything that goes into it condenses,” DeCastro said.

He emphasized that when they heat up the red beans, they don’t microwave them, but put them in a small double boiler.

What the Future Holds: A Delicate Balance of the Old & the New

Many like to enjoy the red beans and rice alongside the restaurant’s signature 18 oz. goblets of frosty cold beers — or an Abita root beer. Other signature recipes include the Frenchuletta (Muffuletta on French bread) and shrimp and oyster beignets.

While committed to the restaurant’s traditional recipes, DeCastro said that he is also looking to “explore a lot of other Louisiana foods.” Sounds a lot like Vincent Liuzza, who founded the restaurant in 1947, and like his successors, blended Sicilian foods with Creole and Cajun flavors.

“I want to grow as a brand but walk the line that stays true to what Liuzza’s is to the local community,” said DeCastro. “Being a flag-bearer of a 70-year-old [plus] tradition is a great responsibility that so far, our guests have enjoyed.”

Liuzza’s Restaurant and Bar, 3636 Bienville St., New Orleans; liuzzas.com; Hours: Mon. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tues. Closed; Weds. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Thurs.-Sat.11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

You may have wondered what the difference is between creamy favorites commonly called lima beans, and the velvety staple referred to as butter beans. And you wouldn’t be the first.

Lima Beans vs. Butter Beans

Well, rest assured; the two are actually one in the same. There’s no difference between lima beans and butter beans, though sometimes they’re sold at different stages of maturity. As a matter of fact, our Large Lima Beans packaging actually states Butter Beans in parentheses, just to clarify. The younger green-hued beans are often called Green Baby Limas and are more tender than their larger counterparts. Despite that, all varieties come from the same plant. Interestingly, whether you prefer to call them lima beans or butter beans is a result of your own geographical traditions and how your family and friends refer to them.

A Southern Staple

Regardless, these tasty beauties have been a Southern staple for generations. Often cooked with ham or bacon and served over rice, they’re high in fiber and trace minerals, super hearty, and offer a deliciously creamy, velvety, and well, buttery flavor. If prepared right, they offer a lush creamy goodness encased and embraced by a firmer, shape-holding skin.

We pronounce “lima” beans like this: “lime” with an “a” on the end. However, these New World native beans originally came from Lima (pronounced “LEEma”), the capital city of Peru. These luscious legumes have made themselves at home all over the Americas, and especially so in the South.

How to Cook Lima Beans, aka Butter Beans

Whatever you insist on calling them, what’s important is how you cook and enjoy them! Here are some of our favorite recipes for lima beans, “aka” butter beans.

Instant Pot Southern Large Limas with Ham Hocks

Mushroom & Butter Bean Ragù with Cheesy Grits

Simple Southern Lima Beans

Butter Beans with Pickled Pork or Smoked Ham Hocks

Vegetarian Lima Beans with Mushrooms

Lamb Shanks with Garlic & Butter Beans

The post The Difference Between Lima Beans and Butter Beans first appeared on Camellia Brand.]]> https://www.camelliabrand.com/the-difference-between-lima-beans-and-butter-beans/feed/ 0 https://www.camelliabrand.com/the-red-beans-and-rice-are-smoking-good-at-blue-oak-bbq/ https://www.camelliabrand.com/the-red-beans-and-rice-are-smoking-good-at-blue-oak-bbq/#respond Thu, 29 Jun 2023 20:18:46 +0000 https://www.camelliabrand.com/?p=45328 Founded in 2012 in the back of Grits bar, the BBQ dream of friends Ronnie Evans and Philip Moseley then read more ...

While in college at LSU, Devin Snow’s Monday crockpot stand-by called for Camellia red beans simmered with Manda smoked sausage, a couple of onions, and a ham hock. Though he still loves red beans & rice, he says, “I don’t cook anything anymore. I’m just eating everyone else’s food. And I’m completely content with that.”

With his signature “RB&R” Days, Devin is making a name for himself as a food influencer. And he’s building a pretty large social media following for what he calls an “underdog dish”.

“Nobody respected going out to eat for red beans. Everybody was like, I can just make them at home.”

But after seeking out and eating red beans & rice at a wide range of interesting and quirky takeout places, corner stores, and hot plate lunch spots, Devin is on a roll – recently reaching RB&R Day #160.

RB&R Day 160
Jackson, MS Experiment pic.twitter.com/TsAwjke5cG

— Hold The Mayo (@snowlikejonn) June 5, 2023

How It All Started

A lover of comedy and stand-up, Devin started a blog in June of 2019 based on homegrown New Orleans humor. Six months later, he quit his job as a car salesman, cashed in his 401K, and never looked back. His first video foray involved Facebook Live shows five nights a week; then the pandemic hit, and because so many people were at home on their computers, he got some traction. Stumbling on the idea of doing RB&R Days, Devin explains, “It’s not like the first one blew up. But I told myself, if I do this 100 Mondays in a row, it’s gonna be a hit.”

RB&R Days: One Monday at a Time

When asked how he picks the red beans & rice spots that he’ll visit, Devin claims, “I don’t even think about it till Monday morning. There’s no preparation whatsoever. Which makes it better and more authentic. I’ll go look at my followers’ messages or comments and whatever sounds the most interesting is where I’ll go. Nobody knows I’m coming, and I don’t want anybody to know I’m there.”

Devin doesn’t play favorites, either. He says it’s all about his genuine reaction to the experience and his own opinion. He explains it this way: “I’m not going to rank them; it’s unnecessary. That would just open up an argument. But some of the best places are the ones with the best experiences.”

He cites Queen’s Cuisine in Kenner, LA as a great example:

RB&R Day 106
Greatest Queen in the pic.twitter.com/DMiCjCgljL

— Hold The Mayo (@snowlikejonn) May 23, 2022

On his blog, Devin says, “First person you gonna see is the person who owns the place, Queen. Lol, wow what a vibe. Within seconds it feels like you’ve known her for years. Instant conversation and there is zero, I mean nothing not to like about this sweet woman.” 

Another noteworthy spot Devin appreciates is a bowling alley that packs folks in at lunchtime on Mondays for their red beans & rice. “Nothing but people over 70 years old – that was an experience,” he deadpans.

And then there are the inexpensive joints, where he’s indulged in huge plates of food for as little as $6-$8 per takeout container. “A lot of places are beat-up looking and don’t strike the eye as beautiful – those are beautiful to me.”

Finally, there are the places like Frady’s in the Bywater, where Devin does a little eating and a lot of neighborhood exploring:

RB&R Day 155
Frady’s One Stop Food Store (Bywater) pic.twitter.com/wWuR7FkstP

— Hold The Mayo (@snowlikejonn) May 1, 2023

What’s Next for Devin Snow

Devin now sells his own branded t-shirts and hats (a hugely successful side gig) and has racked up sponsors such as Camellia Beans, Abita, and Blue Plate Mayo. When asked what’s next, he says, “I’m 30 and will have to throw my ass up on a stage and do stand up at some point. It’s something that I know I’ll be able to do. Right now, I’m cool with what I’m doing.”

Everything in this subscription box is about delicious, authentic, southern cooking, delivered right to your door! It includes: a Camellia “Makin’ Groceries” kitchen towel, a Camellia Sticker sheet, Dagostino Alligator Shaped Pasta, Blackeye Peas, Baby Lima Beans, Great Northern Beans, and Pinto Beans.

And our perfect summertime recipes are a great way to put those items to good use! Take a peek:

Cowboy Caviar Pasta Salad

This refreshing pasta salad made with Blackeye Pea Cowboy Caviar is a fast and easy lunch or dinner. Make it more fun for the kiddos with Dagostino Alligator Shaped Pasta.

Picnic Baby Limas

Take these sweet and tangy Baby Limas on your next picnic, even if it’s inside at your kitchen table.

White Bean Hummus

Throw cooked Great Northern beans into a food processor with lemon juice, tahini, herbs, and spices for an appetizer that’ll please a crowd. It’s perfect for snacking and spreading, especially during the warm days of summer.

Kid-Friendly Refried Beans

Savory (but not spicy), these kid-friendly refried beans are perfect in enchiladas and quesadillas, or on top of nachos with lots of shredded cheddar cheese.

If variety is the spice of life, then Chicken’s Kitchen in Gretna could be considered one of its culinary epicenters. So much so that it was named to The New York Times “Restaurant List 2022: 50 Places In America We Are Most Excited About Right Now.”

On the Menu

The menu — colorfully written on a large blackboard on the wall — features daily specials Monday through Friday that include fried chicken, braised beef, half-stuffed Cornish hen, oxtails (the first Tuesday of the month), smothered turkey necks, Five-Star Mac (named for the five cheeses used for it), potato salad, seafood smothered okra, and candied yams, to name just a few. Other options include red beans, white beans, and black-eyed peas with rice dishes.

Then there are the multiple ways you can combine them: a fried pork chop with white beans, cabbage, and candied yams might be your preference, or perhaps red beans with fried chicken, Five-Star Mac, and honey cornbread is more your style.

Each combination offers a unique and delicious flavor profile. (Combine some white beans and rice with the candied yams. Trust us.)

And don’t forget to finish the meal with a sweet treat by Anointed Confections.

Take-Out Plate Lunches

The man behind this culinary cornucopia is restaurant owner Marlon Chukumerije — his nickname is Chicken, hence the restaurant’s name.

Chukumerije’s mother and grandmother taught him to cook, and in 2014, a friend asked him to cater a wedding. Out of this adventure grew a catering business, and when the opportunity arose to open a restaurant in September 2020, he took it.
The menu he created features New Orleans and southern-style dishes that work well as take-out plate lunches.

“The idea was to find things that hold well in the heat, things that could stay long and not
change the quality,” says Chukumerije.

“There are things I would love to add to the menu, but we just can’t,” he adds, stating certain pasta dishes and vegetables don’t work well for take-out, while others do.

Red Beans & Rice, Perfected

One dish he worked hard to perfect was the red beans and rice.

“When we opened, we made red beans four or five different ways,” he said. “It was trial and error.”

“And I landed on this version because I got the most consistent feedback from customers.”

The version Chukumerije and his crew hit on starts with Camellia Red Kidney beans soaked overnight.

Green onions, celery and parsley are added, then Tony Chachere’s, Italian seasoning, onion, garlic powder, and chicken bouillon powder, which he says amplifies the flavors.

When it came to pork, he worked hard to find the right cut and flavor.

“Certain people have pork issues,” he says, noting that ham seasoning, salt pork, and pickled pork (tips, tails, for example) were not popular.

The one ingredient everyone liked was smoked sausage. “That’s the only meat we put in it,” he says.

For the restaurant’s white beans dish, Chukumerije uses Camellia Navy Beans and the same cooking process and ingredients used for the red beans.

As for the blackeye peas, Chukumerije uses scraps from that day’s fried ribs to add flavor.

Red beans are traditionally served on Monday, blackeye peas on Tuesday, and white beans on Wednesday.

A Love of Green Onions

Another unexpected ingredient used in Chicken Kitchen’s bean & rice dishes is green onion. “Something I learned here that I think gives our beans a unique flavor, which most people don’t do, is we finish it off with lots of green onions,” he says. “Right when we are doing the cooking, while it’s still super hot, we put the chopped green onions in there and mix it.

“It elevates it to a whole different level,” he says.

Praise for Chicken’s Kitchen

What Chukumerije is doing is working based on the line of customers outside of the restaurant who know to get there early as food often sells out fast. And, of course, the restaurant’s recognition in the New York Times.

“It’s a gratifying achievement that wouldn’t even be possible without the community support we get on the daily. That’s more special to me,” he says.

Chicken’s Kitchen, 629 Derbigny St., Gretna; Mon.- Fri., 10:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., chickens-kitchen.com; on Instagram.

When a plate of red beans and rice with French bread comes to the table, a debate can sometimes arise about the correct way to eat it.

Should the French bread be used as a scoop, a way to soak up the last bits, or as a separate accompaniment slathered with butter? Then again, why make a choice?

Just like the debate over who makes the best red beans and rice, the debate over how to eat the French bread is ongoing. But no matter the preferred eating style, all agree that the French bread has to be from Leidenheimer Baking Company.

French Bread in New Orleans

Leidenheimer’s was founded 1896 by George Leidenheimer, when New Orleans was teeming with bakeries. About a decade beforehand, the City Directory listed 150 bakeries.

Leidenheimer immigrated years earlier from Deidesheim, Germany. He opened the bakery on Dryades Street and in 1904, moved it to the corner of Simon Bolivar Avenue in Central City, where it remains today.

At first, Leidenheimer made the heavy, dense breads he was more familiar with from Germany; however, around 1905, the bakery segued to making French bread, in addition to other types of breads popular during that time period.

How much did a loaf of French bread cost? At the turn of the century, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of a nickel per loaf.

The Proof is In the Water

What gives Leidenheimer’s French bread its flaky, thin crust and fluffy interior is a combination of interesting influences, but the Mississippi River’s hard water plays a big role.

Other factors include the fermentation process and the weather.

“We naturally ferment our dough, allowing it to age and develop flavor and its unique crumb characteristics,” says bakery Director of Operations and fifth-generation owner William Whann.

“Our bake time varies based on the ambient temperature. We have to put a considerably harder bake on our products during the hotter months because the New Orleans humidity will soften the bread’s signature crust,” he added.

But even with the introduction of technology, the bakery still harkens to its roots.

“While we have incorporated the use of automation to increase output,” says Whann, “human touch will always play an important role in our products. Every po-boy loaf produced at Leidenheimer is still hand-stretched to its signature 32-inch length.”

Po-boy bread in New Orleans is often referred to as French bread and vice versa, but they started out differently.

While French bread had been available in some variation since the city was founded in 1718, po-boy bread was introduced to New Orleanians in 1929. The first po-boys — sandwiches that can be filled with an infinite amount of combinations — were credited to Martin Brother’s Grocery which made them during a streetcar strike. The brothers, who had been streetcar conductors, decided to help out and created a loaf of bread for the “poor boys” to eat or share with their families.

Originally, a typical French bread was a family loaf roughly 16-inches long. It was fatter in the middle at around 4- to 5-inches wide, with narrow, pointed ends. Notes Whann, po-boy bread was developed as a long loaf uniform in width – because when making sandwiches, restaurants were having to throw away the unusable ends.

In the past, New Orleanians may have used the ends of the French bread as a makeshift bowl for their red beans and rice. According to a Southern Foodways 2006 interview with Joe Darensberg, whose family worked at the bakery for generations, “My dad said, ‘We put red beans in the ends of the French bread …” (Perhaps the ends worked well as a large scoop!)

Leidenheimer Today and Beyond

Today, Leidenheimer customers can order different sizes of its French/po-boy bread depending on their needs. The company is the largest producer of French bread in New Orleans.

The bakery also makes pistolettes with the same formula that range in size from 4 inches to 12 inches and is the largest producer of muffuletta bread in the country.

“We bake and deliver tens of thousands of loaves daily to both local and national customers,” says Whann.

“In addition to supporting the needs of our incredibly loyal, local customers, we have had the unique opportunity in recent years to connect with restaurants and chefs all over the country through social media, which has been an incredible experience to see how people are using the product across the States,” says Whann.

Working with Whann in the bakery business is his father, Sandy Whann, president; aunt Katherine Whann, office manager; and sister Katie Whann, marketing and social. Mitch Abide has been the longtime plant manager.

While some may argue cornbread is a go-to accompaniment to red beans and rice, for many, only a slice of Leidenheimer’s French bread will do.

leidenheimer.com/; on Instagram; 504.525.1575.

When owner and chef Jeffrey Heard opened the doors to his restaurant on March 2, 2015, his wife made the red beans and rice.

“She had always cooked them for me at home,” Heard says. “So I let her cook them here.”

But when he entered the Krewe of Red Beans “Bean Madness” contest in 2017, he decided to take on the challenge himself. Working from the memory of his mother’s red beans and rice recipe, he made a batch and had his oldest brother do the taste-testing. His brother proclaimed them “marvelous.”

Heard’s red beans made it to the final eight contenders out of 64 in the competition, but in trying to make more batches, he wasn’t able to cook the beans long enough. “They didn’t have enough time to break down right,” he says, and they didn’t make it to the final four.

Despite that, Heard was hooked on making red beans and rice.

Precision: The Key to Heard’s Red Beans

The process for making everything he serves at the restaurant is precise — including the red beans and rice.

“What I do now is soak them in water overnight. Then, the next day, I cook them on a high fire for about eight hours,” he says.

“And then after that, I simmer them on a real low fire for about 12 hours. I don’t put any seasoning or anything in it. I’m just trying to get them broken down.”

Once they reach the consistency Heard likes, if he doesn’t need them right away, he separates the red beans into portions and puts them in the refrigerator or freezer. Heard then sautés onions, peppers, and pork sausage and puts that aside, divided into portions, as needed. His dry seasonings, including garlic and onion powder, are all ready in a Ziploc bag, again, divided into portions.

Most of the prep takes place on Saturdays, so when Mondays roll around, “I’ll just put it all in the pot, so with that process, it takes me about an hour to an hour and a half to finish cooking.”

His secret? Don’t rush the beans. “I found slow cooking them on that real low fire is what really will make them creamy.” His preferred bean is Camellia Red Kidney Beans. “It’s just something my mom always used. It was like it was a rule and the only kind we had in the house, actually,” he says.

From Front of House to Back of House

Heard was born and raised in New Orleans, the second oldest of six boys. He worked in the hospitality industry for more than 30 years, serving in a variety of front-of-house positions, including waiter, operations manager, and banquet captain at places such as Restaurant August and the Crowne Plaza/W Hotel/Le Méridien on Poydras Street.

Though Heard didn’t work in the kitchen during that time, he watched and learned from chefs such as Michael Gulotta, Michael Stoltzfus, Brian Landry, John Besh, Alon Shaya and Agnes Bellet. And he credits learning the importance of how to plate food so it looks appetizing to his time at Restaurant August.

While working at these establishments, he would often be asked where to find authentic New Orleans food – “I want to go where you eat,” people would say to him. No one knew better than he did, so when the opportunity came along to open his own restaurant, he took it.

A Restaurant of His Own

Heard’s family members are his main collaborators: son, Jeffrey Heard Jr. and daughters Tia’Nesha Heard-Dorset and Angel Heard.

The restaurant’s Audrey Mae’s Catering is named after his mom. Heard was catering before he opened the restaurant at the corner of Magnolia and Felicity streets, in a building with historic roots. Built by Johann Heinrich Keller of Keller Southern Soap Works, it housed the largest manufacturer of soap products in the South in the late 19th century, with products distributed to the eastern U.S., Mexico, and Central America. The front of the building still has the Keller name on it. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it accommodated a food store and the restaurant’s dining area, but neither the food store nor the inside dining area have re-opened.

Heard Dat Kitchen’s menu is available for take-out or can be eaten outside at the picnic tables, but Heard is hoping the owner will soon re-open the building. He’d like to use the larger kitchen and offer inside dining again.

“It would be a perfect spot for coffee, as the neighborhood doesn’t have a coffee shop,” says Heard, who prefers to wear a t-shirt proclaiming, “Exceed Expectations,” a phrase based on Ephesians 3:20.

The red beans and rice do live up to the promise of the t-shirt’s expression; served with a choice of fish or chicken that’s blackened or fried, it is a popular menu item. (Heard points out the blackened chicken works well with the red beans.) Two other signature menu items include the Superdome — a blackened fish dish in a lobster cream sauce with fresh corn and crispy onion rings, and Bourbon Street Love — a baked macaroni dish topped with fried chicken and a crawfish cream sauce.

Heard Dat Kitchen is both a neighborhood spot and a place people seek out – for the food, the experience, and for Jeffrey Heard himself.

Says Chef Gulotta, “I worked with Jeffrey years ago when we had to execute massive private dinners together, and he was unflappable through countless high stress situations – and his knowledge and love of great wine is also unmatched. When I tried his food at Heard Dat Kitchen, he floored me again.”

“My biggest motto is, I tell people that I’m in the memory-making business,” says Heard.

Heard Dat Kitchen, 2520 Felicity St., (504) 510-4248, @_hearddat_ on Instagram, heardatkitchen.com. Hours: Mon. – Sat., 11 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Nestled in a restored 1920s-era train depot in downtown Covington, Lola is a place where you will run into your neighbors, co-workers, family and friends — anyone who has a hankering for what co-owner Chef Keith Frentz says is “simple Southern fare.”

That’s because for the past 17 years, Keith and his wife, co-owner Nealy Frentz, have hit on a comfy alchemy of food and atmosphere that has made Lola a success.

The duo, who both went to Johnson & Wales University culinary school in different cities, met just before Hurricane Katrina when they were sous chefs at Brennan’s. Keith was born and raised in Covington; Nealy is originally from California. 

The Lola Menu

The menu — featuring an assortment of Southern-inspired dishes with a focus on seafood — is what brings customers back. Another highlight is the restaurant’s charming set-up; it conjures up the small town-feel of Covington during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it served as a transportation and commerce hub for the Northshore.

The brick-walled main dining room is part of the original depot and features a large painting of a pig by Simone Burke. (Keith says he won’t ever sell it, even though he has had offers.) Also on the walls are the daily specials – listed on a brown Kraft paper “poster.”

What’s fascinating is that the kitchen and an adjacent dining room are fashioned out of railroad cars. Of note is “The Doodlebug” – a Model 75 Gasoline Engine Driven Rail Car commissioned on Nov. 24, 1925 by the Columbus & Greenville Railway Company and built by the J.G. Brill Company. After years in service, it was retired in 1948 and went into private ownership, eventually moving to downtown Covington. Refurbished in 2017, the car’s exterior was painted the same green as that of New Orleans streetcars.

Red Beans and Rice, Made the Lola Way

Red beans and rice, which figures prominently as a Monday special, is one of Keith’s favorite things to make, though he admits gumbo is up there, too. (Both were big sellers for take-out during the COVID-19 pandemic.)

As it turns out, Keith didn’t grow up eating or even making red beans.

“I never experienced red beans until I was working at Brennan’s, and one of my old friends, cook Kenney Riley, taught me how to make them,” says Keith.

Riley instructed, “One pound of beans, one pound of butter, 10 pieces of bacon, and the trinity [onion, celery, bell pepper].” Keith remembered thinking that was a lot of butter for one pound of beans; but, after Riley added the sausage, Keith realized it was the best thing he had ever tasted. 

The red bean bug had bit, and Keith proceeded to develop the recipe he now uses at the restaurant.

Keith’s Secret Ingredients

Now, some may think that the butter would be the secret ingredient, but for Keith it is bacon fat. 

“I always cook bacon for my sandwiches, so I always have at least eight sheet pans of bacon made on Monday,” he says. “The excess bacon juice goes into the beans.”

Another must-have ingredient is Camellia Beans, which Keith says are the only ones he will use.

“I don’t soak them because they cook really fast,” says Keith. “They are going to reduce down and smash each other. Once I get them to a boil, I put them on low because unfortunately, I have burned a lot of red beans.”

Mondays at Lola

Keith’s Monday morning routine is this: “First thing I do when I arrive is put my pot of water on, then add the butter, all the dry seasonings such as paprika, salt and pepper, cayenne, dried parsley, garlic, and thyme, then red beans, and I let it boil for a while,” he says. “Next, I will add the trinity and smoked sausage. When the bacon is done, I will add the bacon fat.”

When completed, the red beans and rice is served with cornbread.

And on Tuesdays…

The red beans and rice often sells out on Mondays, but when it doesn’t, Keith will make red bean hummus or red bean succotash on Tuesdays. His red bean succotash is a variation on part of a dish that earned him the title of King of Louisiana Seafood in the 2012 Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off. The full award-winning dish was a cornmeal-dusted wild Des Allemands catfish with Camellia red bean & local crawfish succotash, braised collards, and house-made tartar sauce.

Has Keith ever used red beans in other dishes? Yep, in a red bean gumbo. “And it was good!” he exclaims.

Here’s hoping to find that dish on the Lola menu soon! But if not, red beans and rice will remain a well-seasoned favorite at Lola.

Lola, 517 N. New Hampshire St., Covington; (985) 892-4992; http://lola.kitchen/; on Instagram @lolacovington; Hours: Mon.- Fri. Lunch, Dinner Fri. and Sat.

The Krewe of Feijao & Green Beans is another colorful off-shoot of the Red Beans and Dead Beans parades, and it debuted back in 2020.

Featuring both a samba-style marching band and a Cajun band, the parade celebrates the diversity of different cultures in the Crescent City, including Cajun and Brazilian culture. The relatively new 70-member krewe is named for the Portuguese word for beans, and their costumes show off intricate designs made with dried beans and rice.

On Monday, February 16th, the 2026 Feijao & Green Beans Parade kicks off at 2 PM at the Krewe of Red Beans’ Beanlandia.

These Beans were Made for Wearing

Just as red beans and rice is a Monday tradition going back generations, the Krewe of Red Beans Parade has become a popular Lundi Gras tradition. But this krewe isn’t serving red beans – they’re sporting elaborate costumes adorned with designs made from the star of New Orleans’ favorite weekly dish. Each year, the day before Mardi Gras, the humble bean is elevated to a work of art. The Krewe of Red Beans was founded in 2008 by Devin DeWulf when a bean-covered suit he created for Halloween received overwhelming praise. More than a decade later, the krewe’s 150-plus members elicit raves of their own with bean-dazzled suits featuring intricate patterns, clever puns, and sincere homages, all laid out with thousands of tiny beans.

A Labor of (Legume) Love

Inspired by the traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians, whose elaborately-beaded and feathered costumes are hand-sewn from scratch each year, krewe members spend months planning, designing, and constructing their suits. The effort is obvious in the complex designs rendered through their bean-work. While red beans are the star, the suits also incorporate other varieties of bean. Camellia, a strong supporter of local traditions and initiatives, donates hundreds of pounds of beans to the Krewe each year.

The suit-making process begins in earnest each November. Like New Orleans’ Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, the Red Beans Krewe features a social element (as well as a charitable angle through its Bean Madness Tournament held every March). Krewe members meet each Monday at a neighborhood bar to work on their costumes, swap design tips, and share glue-gun techniques, not to mention eat some red beans and rice. While members also work on their costumes individually, these weekly gatherings inspire creativity and the camaraderie of a true club. Krewe members comprise a full range of artistic abilities, from dabblers to master artists, but all share a love of beans and a desire to express their creativity through art. More than just assembly-line, copycat costumes, each krewe member has a chance to bring their own ideas to light.

Red or Dead

Though it has grown since its inception, the Red Beans Parade has remained a close-knit, neighborhood-oriented parade. When the membership ranks swelled after ten years, founder Devin DeWulf decided to split the krewe into two different parades, each with 150 members. A group within the Red Beans krewe had already adopted a tradition of portraying skulls and skeletons with their bean art, so in 2018 they officially broke off and were anointed the Dead Beans Parade. What sets the two krewes apart? Red Beans krewe members create costumes depicting jazz musicians, elaborate designs, homages to New Orleans Saints players, puns like “Bean in the Oven” or “Bean There Done That”, renderings of Camellia brand imagery, and much more. The Dead Beans display imagery relating to death and mortality, and often honor the recently deceased. Both parades are joined by local brass marching bands and led by their respective royalty.

Ceremonial Gathering

Not long before Lundi Gras, the krewes announce their royalty, each determined in their own unique way. Red Beans krewe members elect a king or queen, based in part on seniority. Long time krewe members also choose a princess, who they feel is the most “ridiculous” krewe member. Dead Beans members nominate fellow members for the roles of Empress/Emperor, Oracle (who conducts a ceremony to honor the dead before the parade), and Magician (the “jokester”).

Both Bean Parades Are Ready for Lundi Gras Kickoff

On Lundi Gras, the Monday before Mardi Gras, the painstaking work of the two krewes will be on display for all to see. The 2023 Red Beans Parade will wind along its traditional route through the Marigny, while the 2023 Dead Beans will meander along Bayou St. John and through Mid-City. The two krewes will eventually meet up in Treme. Be sure to look out for one of the main bean attractions of the Dead Beans Parade – its amazing, bean-studded hearse. All throws are locally-made, including resin red beans, glitter packs, and mini hearses. Get a spot along the route to see the suits up close, as each design deserves a full inspection. Want to try your hand at bean art, too? Unlike most krewes, Red Beans and Dead Beans encourage anyone to make a bean suit and join in the fun on the day of the parade.

Highest Quality, Premium Beans, Peas & Lentils

In 1923, L.H. Hayward began sourcing and selling the finest red beans he could find at the old French Market in New Orleans, and his son, Gordon Hayward, trademarked “Camellia Brand” after his mother’s favorite southern flower. Today, Camellia is a 4th generation family-owned company in New Orleans and has continued to sell the highest quality dry beans, peas and lentils available for 100 years.

Grown in the United States, these non-GMO beans, peas and lentils consistently outrank the highest USDA grade and meet the higher “Hayward Standard” — a term coined by trusted farmers the family has worked with for generations. Always freshly harvested the same year they’re sold, they’re cleaned six times before being packaged in our iconic cellophane bags. That freshness ensures our beans cook faster and are consistent in taste, color, and texture. Camellia products are also BRC-certified, meeting the international standard for food safety practices and proof of our commitment to responsible food production.

100 Years of Beans Done Right

Camellia Brand has been bringing people together to make memories and enjoy family meals for a century, and our customers are the most important ingredient to that success. Just like a pot of red beans that is slowly simmered and lovingly tended to, the best things in life take time. We’ve always put our heart and soul into everything we do, and that’s the recipe that has kept us going for 100 years and counting.

Cooking a pot of Camellia red beans into a state of creamy perfection is an authentic, soulful Monday tradition that people look forward to every week. It’s kitchen therapy — the ultimate comfort food — and Camellia is at the very heart of this tradition. New Orleanians and Southerners — by birth or by spirit — are devoted to the Camellia brand and have built a community around how to cook, season, savor, and celebrate with Camellia beans. None of our competitors can stake a claim to the same quality, tradition, or passionate following.

Here’s to another 100 years of beans done right!

When You Really Love Red Beans

How much does Saint John Chef Daren Porretto love red beans?

He has a tattoo of one on his finger.

For this New Orleans-born and-raised chef, the city and its food are his passions, and he shares them at the French Quarter restaurant. Through those passions, Saint John customers get a culinary awakening — a conversion, perhaps — of Southern and Louisiana food that goes beyond tradition.

The proof? The moment a waiter places the pork belly cassoulet down on a table, there is a pause: Take a photo, inhale the heavenly aroma, or just dive into the flavor? Most people do all three, as simultaneously as they can, when it comes to this brunch favorite.

A Cassoulet Made with Camellia Beans

Making the cassoulet is a two-day process that starts by soaking Camellia Great Northerns overnight. Then, it’s time to render the meat (Andouille sausage, tasso and ground pork belly), throw into chicken stock, and add vegetables including the trinity (onion, bell peppers, celery), plus garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper. 
“All the usual suspects,” Chef Porretto says, cooked to the right balance, so the mixture is buttery and smooth.

Finally, the pork belly is braised in root beer and topped with a cornbread crust.

A combination of flavors, the cassoulet creates a historical connection between its French origins and Louisiana, with beans as the common denominator.

 And Porretto wouldn’t use anything other than Camellia Beans.

“I feel like I don’t have a choice to use anything else,” says Porretto jokingly.

Camellia Beans is what his grandmother relied on when the two of them cooked together. And when Porretto worked in New York City for a year, she made sure he was well-stocked. Her care packages included at least three different types – usually white beans, red beans, and one other.

“New Orleanians stick to our roots,” he says. “It’s like if you go to the grocery store, and there’s no Camellia Beans, you go to another store to find it. It’s something ingrained in my DNA.”

It’s that DNA — along with a dedication to Southern and Louisiana food — that Porretto and restaurant owner Eric Cook are bringing together in a modern, updated cuisine that never forgets its roots.

Hoppin’ John Oyster Salad

Another example of their culinary philosophy is the Hoppin’ John oyster salad, a fresh take on the New Year’s Day Southern tradition of serving cabbage or greens (symbolizing money, or dollar bills), with blackeye peas (symbolizing prosperity, or coins), and cornbread (symbolizing gold) – all with the goal of starting the new year with good luck.

Instead of cabbage, the salad features Bibb lettuce topped with crispy fried Gulf oysters. It is then ringed by a combination of crumbled bacon, chopped red peppers, and slow-cooked, smoky blackeye peas, “which bring a great flavor and texture to it,” says Porretto. Dressed with a green remoulade — not the traditional pinkish-hued version — it is a light, flavorful combination that melds Louisiana and Low Country traditions.

Red Beans and Rice

And what about the red beans and rice? The classic dish was added back to the menu — Mondays only, as per New Orleans’ custom — with Porretto putting just as much thought into it.

 However, he is keeping that favorite more traditional, as any New Orleans native would.

Saint John, 1117 Decatur St., (504) 581-8120, saintjohnnola.com, on Instagram; 
Hours: Brunch and dinner, Weds.-Mon.

If you can’t say Camellia, say “La La”!

Ms. Bonnie Stanzak was born in New Orleans in 1948 – just a few years after we began packaging our beans in the iconic cellophane bag with camellia flower logo and selling them in big supermarkets like Schwegmann’s. Her grandmother, Maw Maw, made red beans as far back as she can remember. She says “I think one of my first solid foods was my Maw Maw’s red beans. She made the best red beans I ever tasted. They were always so creamy and tasty. She always told me that if I thought she made the best, it was because she used the best – Camellia Beans. As a young child I couldn’t say Camellia, so I would say ‘La La.’ I’d ask, ‘Maw Maw can I have some La La beans?’”

Bonnie Stanzak’s Maw Maw when she was young, living life to the fullest and cooking the best red beans!

Searching for childhood’s lost beans.

Bonnie grew up and moved to New York City as a young woman, and her beloved Maw Maw passed away. She tried to re-create her Maw Maw’s red beans and rice, looking all over for a “La La” brand of dried red beans, and of course no one knew what she was talking about. But when she returned to New Orleans for a visit, problem solved! She says, “When I asked the New Orleans taxi driver if she ever heard of ‘La La’ beans, she said no, but the best beans she liked was ‘Ca-mel-LA.’ That seemed to strike a chord, so when I went to a store and found them! When I made that first pot of beans, I knew that I had found my Maw Maw’s beans. I mashed them up in the last 30 mins of cooking like she always did, and tasted them: nice and creamy! They are truly the best. And now my daughter, son and grandchildren are enjoying Maw Maw’s ‘La La’ beans.”

Remembering a true Southern lady and cook.

Bonnie’s Maw Maw lived in the New Orleans area, and from what Bonnie has shared with us, she was a typical New Orleanian – enjoying life to the fullest! Says Bonnie, “She was a fantastic Southern lady and cook. Her seafood gumbos and red beans were unbeatable. I have a picture of her at about age 25 in a bathing suit, hair cut short, smoking and showing a lot of skin for those days! She was the first feminist that I knew! She raised my mom on her own, working as a seamstress from the time she was 11 until retiring at 65. She cooked on weekends, freezing food so there was always a hot meal on the table when she got home. Camellia Beans were always a part of the weekend cooking.”

Maw Maw as Bonnie remembers her, and the inscription Maw Maw wrote in a cookbook she gave her granddaughter.

Here’s to another 100 years of Maw Maw’s “La La” red beans and rice.

Stories like Bonnie’s are the heart and soul of Camellia Beans, making every day special at our headquarters in New Orleans. Bonnie finished her story with best wishes for the family mealtime traditions of the future: “I could go on and on about this lady and am very proud to call her my Maw Maw and to be part of the Camellia family to carry on this wonderful tradition. Happy 100th Birthday Camellia! Maybe the world enjoy your product for 100 more!”

Celebrating our 100th Anniversary

We’re thrilled to celebrate our 100th anniversary in 2023! And we’re commemorating this milestone by giving back to the community that has sustained us – through a year’s worth of exciting events. Stay tuned as we announce more events in the coming weeks and months!

Camellia Beans & Second Harvest: A Pack-A-Thon (January 9th, 2023)

On January 9th, 2023, the first Monday of Carnival, we began a year-long partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank as part of an effort to end food insecurity in New Orleans. As part of a Camellia Bean/Second Harvest pack-a-thon event, 100 volunteers (including local celebrities and public figures) came together to pack 2,000 bags of beans and rice for those in need in our community. And over the course of our centennial year, we’ll donate beans for one million meals.

Working to End Food Insecurity

Our ongoing desire to ensure adequate food resources is deeply embedded in our company’s cultural values. Camellia regularly lends its support to food distribution programs, community kitchen meal services, nutrition education, shelters, food banks, schools, and public benefits – ensuring families have a meal on their dining table at all times.

Camellia Beans & Dooky Chase: Two Icons Turn 100 (January 7^th, 2023)

Two icons turn 100 years old! On January 7^th, 2023, we helped honor the life, work, and legacy of Chef Leah Chase – Queen of Creole Cuisine. Called “Grateful to You” Day, this free and open community event celebrated and memorialized Leah Chase’s 100th birthday (and ours) by serving up fried chicken and red beans & rice to the community, courtesy of Dooky Chase and Camellia beans. We were thrilled to join forces with the Chase family to commemorate this occasion.

Camellia Beans & Charter Schools: Red Beans Month (March 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th, 2023)

Councilmember Freddie King III of District C and Camellia Beans came together — just like Red Beans and Rice — to honor New Orleans culinary culture in March with “Red Beans Month”. The goal was to share the tradition of Red Beans and Rice and its significance with the next generation of New Orleanians, through an initiative with charter schools and InspireNOLA schools.

Camellia shared an 8-minute documentary short film with the schools on the history of Louis Armstrong’s favored dish and provided a free and nutritious meal of Red Beans and Rice to students and faculty on Mondays, March 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th. The film presents insightful interviews with historians, authors, journalists, filmmakers, and respected tastemakers of the city, including Dr. Jessica Harris, Poppy Tooker, Stella Chase, Lolis Elie, Vance Vaucresson, and Rien Fertel.

We visited Alice M. Harte Charter School, Dorothy Height Charter School, Dwight D. Eisenhower Charter School, Frederick A. Douglas High School, Harriet Tubman Charter School, KIPP Leadership, L.B. Landry High School, and New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy. It was a joy and a pleasure to share our love of red beans and rice with amazing children from our local NOLA community!

We’re thrilled to celebrate our 100th anniversary in 2023, and we’re commemorating this milestone by giving back to the community that has sustained us. Through a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, we’re helping the ongoing effort to end food insecurity in New Orleans and ensure that all of our neighbors have the food they need.

On January 9th, we began a year-long partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, and over the course of our centennial year, we’ll donate beans for one million meals.

“We are a company that began with one of my great grandfathers, a self-made businessman. His early life would not be characterized by riches; he began selling beans from a cart in the French Market, so understanding what it takes to survive is something we are reminded of within each generation of Haywards,” said Vince Hayward, CEO, L.H. Hayward and Company, parent company of Camellia beans.

From taking care of our neighbors as part of hurricane relief efforts, to COVID-19 pandemic efforts aimed at feeding healthcare workers and our city’s culture bearers, our ongoing desire to ensure adequate food resources is deeply embedded in our cultural values.

Camellia regularly lends its support to food distribution programs, community kitchen meal services, nutrition education, shelters, food banks, schools, and public benefits – ensuring families have a meal on their dining table at all times.

Stay tuned as we announce more partnerships in the coming months!

Vince Hayward, left, CEO of L.H. Hayward & Company, Gov. John Bel Edwards and Robbie Trahan, co-owner of Crowley’s Falcon Rice Mill and producer of Cajun Country Rice. The ‘Red Beans & Rice Mondays’ campaign benefitted the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank, helping provide 50,000 meals in the Fall of 2022.

In March 2023, Camellia partnered with Councilmember Freddie King III of District C — coming together just like Red Beans and Rice — to honor New Orleans culinary culture with “Red Beans Month”. The goal was to share the tradition of Red Beans and Rice and its significance with the next generation of New Orleanians, through an initiative with charter schools and InspireNOLA schools.

The following schools joined us in the initiative: Alice M. Harte Charter School, Dorothy Height Charter School, Dwight D. Eisenhower Charter School, Frederick A. Douglas High School, Harriet Tubman Charter School, KIPP Leadership, L.B. Landry High School, and New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy.

We shared an 8-minute documentary short film on the history of Louis Armstrong’s favored dish and provided a free and nutritious meal of Red Beans and Rice to students and faculty on Mondays, March 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th. The film presents insightful interviews with historians, authors, journalists, filmmakers, and respected tastemakers of the city, including Dr. Jessica Harris, Poppy Tooker, Stella Chase, Lolis Elie, Vance Vaucresson, and Rien Fertel. It was a joy and a pleasure to share our love of red beans and rice with amazing children from our local NOLA community!

It’s in New Orleans’ neighborhood restaurants where you’ll find the heart and soul of the city’s cuisine.

Since it opened in the 1970s, Joey K’s Restaurant and Bar has been keeping Uptown well-fed, with Southern and New Orleans dishes that have been on the menu since day one.

Always on the Menu
One such traditional New Orleans dish that has always been on the menu is the red beans and rice.

“I’ve never seen an actual recipe written down,” says co-owner Tommy Spain.

The chefs are still using the same recipe, but each has their own flourishes. And while the base is the same, what you get “… really depends on who’s making it, to be honest with you,” Spain adds.

Chef Weston Banks has been here for five years with a short break in between. The other chef is Dexter Johnson, who has been cooking at Joey K’s for 17 years.

“It’s a mixture of both of them,” says Banks, referring to the restaurant recipe and his own. Banks learned his craft at home and while working at other restaurants around town.

How Joey K’s Cooks Red Beans

There are a few constants; among them, using Camellia Beans and not soaking.

“We just put them in the pot, add water, our spices, let them cook,” says Banks. “Once we let them cook, we add smoked sausage and seasoning, onion, bell pepper, and a ham base.”

The dish is available every day as a main or side dish, and while it doesn’t always sell out, it is a best seller.
Why do customers like their red beans and rice? “They are the right amount of firmness, which I think comes from not pre-soaking the beans,” says Spain. “The other thing people have a tendency to do is to over-salt them, and they get too soft. And, we don’t season so much that it hides the taste.”

The restaurant is a regular stop for the New Orleans Secrets Tours’ Magazine Street Foodie Tour. Tour co-owner Mark Aspiazu likes Magazine Street because it is walkable and has good restaurants for stopping and sampling the food.

“It’s one of my favorite places to eat,” says Aspiazu about Joey K’s.

The red beans are “cooked perfectly, scream authenticity, and are creamy and delicious,” he says. “I can get red beans and rice anywhere, but not these, which are the best in town.”

“How could I not bring guests here?”

In fact, the popularity of Joey K’s red beans was celebrated when the restaurant was one of the final four competitors in the inaugural Bean Madness tournament (created and organized by the Red Beans Parade). 64 New Orleans restaurants and chefs were pitted against one another to see who makes the city’s best red beans.

From the Beginning to Present Day
While Joey K’s was founded in the 1970s, it was originally one block away and called Tony’s. It was owned by Joey K’s mother, and passed on to him when she passed away in the late ‘70s. He then moved the restaurant to its current location and named it after his daughter Joey Kay, later shortening it to Joey K’s. In the late 1980s, Cindy and Sam Farnet bought the business, and more recently, Spain and his wife purchased a portion of it.

Spain pulls out an original menu from the late 1980s to compare it to one from 2022. There are menu items that are now long gone, but the classic Joey K’s offerings remain, including red beans and rice, white beans and pork chop, beef brisket, chicken cordon bleu, and the “All You Can Eat Catfish” Friday special. Prices, alas, have changed: red beans and rice was once $4.25, and today it is $11.95.

What hasn’t changed is what brought people here in the first place – the food.

In fact, Spain admits he eats the red beans and rice every day, maybe even twice a day!

Joey K’s Restaurant and Bar, 3001 Magazine St., (504) 891-0997; joeyksrestaurant.com; on Instagram; Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m

It’s a bustling scene inside Mother’s Restaurant. Visitors simultaneously look around, taking in this old school New Orleans eatery, while perusing the menu and trying to make a decision about what to order. Should they get the restaurant’s Famous Ferdi Special, a combination of ham and roast beef “debris” with its juices unabashedly soaking into the po-boy bread and down the sides? Perhaps Jerry’s Jambalaya, named after the late owner Jerry Amato, or the signature red beans and rice. Regulars go straight to the always-in-motion serving/deli line to get their favorite dish. Tables are overflowing with Mother’s food and those who enjoy it, a testament to the enduring popularity of this restaurant.

Much of that has to do with brothers Jerry and John Amato, who bought the restaurant in 1986. And much has to do with the staff — such as Miss Pat, who has been there for more than 30 years and has done a little bit of everything.

It’s family. It’s New Orleans. It’s about the relationships between people, as well as with food.

A Recipe is Born
It was Jerry – with culinary training from previous hospitality jobs, studies at Delgado Community College and The Culinary Institute of America – who had an innate sense of what tasted good and which flavors worked together. He was always able to take traditional New Orleans dishes and elevate them.

“Jerry really brought a culinary take on it,” says Charles Pizzo, who does public relations and social media marketing for the restaurant, about the food at Mother’s.

An example is the red beans and rice.

The origin of the red beans and rice recipe at Mother’s starts with the founders, Simon and Mary “Mother” Landry, who opened the business in 1938 on Poydras Street. It was there where they fed the neighborhood’s longshoremen, warehouse workers, and others looking for po-boys and hearty New Orleans dishes.

Years later, Chef Odie Mae Peters refined the red beans and rice recipe.

“She tweaked the recipe a little bit,” says Pizzo. “She added more ham because Mother’s cooks its own ham.”

When Jerry arrived on the scene, he saw all the leftover ham fat as the result of trimming, and realized it could be used in the red beans, among other dishes.

“It is a secret ingredient to a lot of Mother’s old-time dishes,” shares Pizzo.

Chef Roland Swazy agrees: “Though it’s no longer fashionable, it’s fat that makes the red beans taste good. And Mother’s happens to have a lot of ham trimmings available.”

After the ham fat is rendered, then the vegetables — onions, green onions, bell peppers and garlic — for the red beans are cooked in it.

Mother’s ham is cooked at the restaurant. “We only use Chisesi Brothers ham,” says Alex Salas, daytime manager, who has been at the restaurant for 16 years.

In addition to cooking the vegetables in the rendered ham fat, the ham bones, which are cut in half, are boiled with the red beans.

Pizzo notes that the ham is not salted. The flavor is enhanced by Mother’s secret sauce, a glaze that covers the ham when it is cooked. Ham chunks are also used in the red beans recipe, as is smoked sausage from Creole Country that is made to Mother’s specifications.

Mother’s uses Camellia Red Kidney Beans. The beans are not soaked, but instead, they’re put through a few rinses to help release the starches. (The restaurant also has specialized equipment so it can cook the beans low and slow at a controlled rate.)

The beans are then boiled in half chicken stock and half beef stock, a.k.a. “debris gravy.” The stocks are made in-house.

The Legacy Continues
Chef Swazy has been put in charge of carrying on the restaurant’s culinary traditions. Swazy started as a dishwasher in 1987 and worked his way up to become head chef, learning what made Mother’s so special along the way.

“Chef Jerry Amato, who mentored me, was big on the need for consistency. Regulars come to Mother’s Restaurant year after year, and they want and expect everything to taste the same,” says Swazy. “While some restaurants try to be cutting edge, Mother’s aims to be traditional. We’ve seen adult children bring their elderly parents in to eat,” he added. “These are folks who worked in what were once office buildings along Poydras Street, such as the Lykes Building or One Shell Square. They tear up and get emotional, telling us ‘Your food tastes exactly like I remembered it.’”

And that’s why Mother’s Restaurant remains beloved.

Mother’s Restaurant, 401 Poydras Street, mothersrestaurant.net, (504) 523-9656. Hours: 7 days 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

Arkesha Baquet is a busy woman. It’s just a half-hour before opening at Li’l Dizzy’s in Tremé, and menus must be reviewed, supply deliveries confirmed, and she needs to peek in the kitchen to check on the Creole-Soul food favorites this beloved eatery is famous for.

If a restaurant can embody a city’s culinary history, traditions, and heart — as well as its past, present and future — then Li’l Dizzy’s is it.

Arkesha, and her husband Wayne Baquet Jr., are second-generation owners of the restaurant founded by Wayne’s father, Wayne Baquet Sr., in 2004.

The Baquets and Their Long-Standing Culinary Legacy
The family has a long, rich culinary legacy in New Orleans. Before Li’l Dizzy’s, there was Zachary’s on Oak Street, and before that, Eddie’s in the Seventh Ward, run by Wayne Sr.’s father, Eddie Baquet Sr. Eddie learned the business working for his aunt and uncle, Ada Baquet Gross and Paul Gross, at their restaurant, Paul Gross Chicken Coop. The Chicken Coop opened in the mid-1940s and was among the first Black-owned restaurants in the city.

Li’l Dizzy’s is the last of the Baquet family restaurants that’s still in operation today, and Arkesha and Wayne Jr. took it over in February 2021, after Wayne Sr. retired during the pandemic. (Those who are curious will appreciate this tidbit: the café was named after Wayne Sr.’s grandson Zachary, who played the trumpet at St. Augustine High School and was nicknamed Li’l Dizzy after famous trumpeter, Dizzy Gillespie.) Says Arkesha, “It’s a family business where a lot of people like to come with their families.”

Some Things Have Changed, While Others Have Stayed the Same
With Arkesha and Wayne Jr. at the helm, only a few things have changed: the restaurant just serves lunch, the buffet has been removed, and service is now tableside and take-out. Food is served in take-out containers for the ease of both customers and staff.

What hasn’t changed are the recipes. Those have been part of the Baquet family lore for generations. Wayne Sr.’s wife, Janet Jourdain Baquet, created the recipes. A few are by his mother, Myrtle Romano Baquet.

The red and white bean dishes, credited to Janet, are legendary, and the recipes can be found in “The Baquet Family Cookbook”.

The two recipes are the same, except for the beans used, but as Arkesha learned early on, the white beans better be Camellia’s Great Northern beans – and not lima beans.

“People will have a fit,” says Arkesha. “Because, I’m telling you, when we first opened up (post-pandemic), and we started selling white beans, the question almost every customer asked was, ‘What kind of white beans are these?’ They did not want those lima beans.”

Arkesha was asked this question so many times, that she even called Wayne Sr. about it.

“He said, ‘If you give them something else, they’re not going to be happy,’” says Arkesha.

Soaking the Beans and Secret Ingredients
Some additional things that haven’t changed are the way the red and white bean dishes are made — using Camellia Beans — and soaking the beans overnight.

“My mother said that it’s sacrilegious not to soak your beans,” Arkesha says. “I don’t know how you would get away with them being good. That’s what would scare me; are they going to be hard?”

One ingredient that gives the bean dishes a special kick is the notable hot sausage the Baquets make in-house. The hot sausage can also be served alongside the beans, or customers can choose options like smoked sausage or fried chicken.

The red beans are served only on Mondays and usually sell out, while the white beans are served only on Tuesdays, and are just as popular.

Customers can thank head chef John Cannon (who some may know for playing the tuba in the Stooges Brass Band) and lead cook Lawrence Miller: Cannon makes the red beans, and Miller makes the white beans.

Li’l Dizzy’s Third Generation
Li’l Dizzy’s third generation includes Arkesha and Wayne Jr.’s children, Jene and Jace, who can be found helping out on Saturdays. Wayne Jr., who is the president of a wholesale company, is there, as well.

“We’re all here on Saturdays,” says Arkesha.

And they’re dedicated to keeping the Baquet culinary legacy alive.

Li’l Dizzy’s, 1500 Esplanade Ave., lildizzyscafe.net; on Instagram; (504) 766-8687; Mon-Sat. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Opening During the Pandemic

Opening a restaurant is always a risk, and Allison and Glenn Charles took on an even greater one when opening Nice Guys in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the duo – natives of New Orleans – had a dream, a plan, and were determined to move forward.

They haven’t looked back.

The restaurant took off, so much so that the Charleses are in the process of expanding Nice Guys into a former Japanese restaurant that was next door and renovating a Canal Street space as a second location.

The Secrets to Their Success

What could be the restaurant’s secrets to success? The Charleses’ savvy business sense: they took a long-empty building on Earhart Boulevard and renovated it into a place that is welcoming and casually chic.

The not-so-secret-secrets are Chef Fred Andrews and the menu, featuring classic yet innovative dishes that New Orleanians know and love. The restaurant’s tagline is “New Orleans food with a twist!”

A great example would be the red beans and rice.

Andrews boils smoked turkey legs in a seafood boil, such as crab, before adding them to Camellia Red Kidney Beans — which he doesn’t soak — during the cooking process.

He then adds the “trinity” — onion, celery, bell pepper — plus garlic, red pepper, salt, pepper, and pickled ham, and a “whole list of secret ingredients,” he says.

Andrews cooks the red beans and rice the day before serving, so the flavors are enhanced overnight.

The restaurant serves red beans and rice on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and “we always sell out each day,” says Glenn Charles. “People love it, and I think it’s because of the smoked turkey meat that we use.” (And whatever the secret ingredients are!)

An Original Take on Traditional Dishes

What else do the restaurant’s customers love? The menu’s original takes on traditional dishes. Shrimp and grits is now SLG (shrimp, lobster, and grits) and French fries are Earhart Attack Fries – a combination of marinated chicken, hot sausage, smoked sausage, bacon, jalapeños, and seasoned fries topped with crawfish cheese sauce and a fried egg. And then there are chargrilled oyster options, including the Oysters Rockefeller version.

Even snowballs get a special twist with little bottles of alcohol flipped into the icy mixture, while daiquiris get their own enhancements of fruit and more.

Allison Charles points out that the Wednesday special of the seafood hot box features a combination of seafood rice with potatoes, sausage, and corn boiled in crab boil, and is finished with Nice Guys’ garlic butter and the seafood of your choice (though some people like to add turkey legs).

Nice Guys Finish First

It’s no wonder that online reviews for the restaurant are raves and often include kudos to the wait staff.

About their success, Allison Charles says, “We were blessed, really blessed.”

It’s no longer a secret that Nice Guys do finish first.

Nice Guys Nola, 7910 Earhart Blvd. NOLA 70125, (504) 302-2404, https://www.niceguysnola.com/

Keeping New Orleanians Well Fed Since WW II
Leni’s Cafe is like going home, a place where you will find comfort food just like what your mom or grandmother — and let’s not forget dad and grandfather — made.

From a grilled cheese to a cheeseburger, omelet to egg sandwich, and red beans to white beans, this Baronne Street diner’s plate breakfasts and lunches have been keeping New Orleanians well fed since at least World War II.

Since 1978, the Warehouse District restaurant has been owned by Pete Patselikos.

He is, however, not Leni. That would be a previous owner (circa early 1960s), Leni Kampitsis; Leni is short for Eleni, a Greek name, and Greece is the country from which Patselikos hails.

“After the purchase, I continued what she had created,” says Patselikos, talking about the menu, which at its heart is American Greek diner food with New Orleans dishes.

That includes red and white beans.

The Secrets to Leni’s Red Beans
Patselikos claims there is no real secret to his red beans — “cook the red beans, put in the right seasoning” — but as you talk to him more, a few key elements pop out.

“We don’t soak the red beans,” he says, adding that people often soak them because of the quality. That’s not an issue at Leni’s because the restaurant uses Camellia Beans.

“Start by putting the beans in cold water, let them boil,” says Patselikos, “then put in the seasonings including pepper and celery, as well as sausage and ham.”

And don’t forget to add tomato paste to give it some color, Patselikos advises, sharing that butter is also added.

Only on Mondays
This process starts sometime between 5:30 – 6 am, and the red beans are done by 9:30 am, when they are creamy.

“We make them only on Mondays,” says Patselikos.

“Very traditional,” Patselikos’ wife Despina Patselikos says, referring to the New Orleans’ custom of making red beans and rice on Mondays. The origins of the Monday tradition can be traced back about 100 years to when women would simmer the beans on a stove during the day while they did the wash.

Customers can get the red beans and rice as is or with “Whatever you want that’s on the menu … it’s usually with smoked sausage. Some order a pork chop. A lot of people like to have it with fried shrimp,” says Patselikos.

#WhiteBeanWednesday
Then there is Leni’s white beans and rice, only served on Wednesdays. Instead of using Great Northern Beans, the restaurant uses Camellia’s Large Limas.

Why?

“That’s what they were making 45 years ago,” says Patselikos, who says he is continuing the legacy of the previous owners, such as Leni.

Classic & Time-Tested
And for a long time, Greeks have owned the restaurant. Before the current owners, there were Pete G. Michailakis and Gus Michailakis during the late 1960s and 1970s (they were either the same person or related to each other), and prior to that, Leni Kampitsis. A newspaper article from 1941 shows Margaret Wellbat — who may or may not have been Greek — owned the restaurant and that she was fleeced out of $15 by a Robert E. Byrd pretending to be in the army.

During the 1920s, the space was home to Monarch Sheet Metal Works and around World War I, it housed Murray Welding and Metal Works.

Now in 2022, there is no denying that when a customer walks into Leni’s Cafe, they will be served time-tested classic New Orleans dishes — such as red beans or white beans and rice — Leni’s style.

Leni’s Café, 741 Baronne St., 504.523.0069; Hours, Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

1905 Alabama diner ad featuring camp stew

Across the Yellowhammer State, cooks of every description have been lighting fires under old kettles and cooking camp stew for well over a hundred years. From the Tennessee Valley in the northern part of the state to the Mobile-Tensaw Delta on the Gulf Coast, camp stew is available nightly in hundreds of households, barbecue shacks, meat and three joints, and of course, hunting camps. The fortunate among us may find the dish in the backwood taverns that dot the rural countryscape across the region. Camp stew is so ingrained in the psychology of Alabama eaters that it made the 100 Dishes To Eat In Alabama Before You Die list published by the Birmingham News, a journal with roots that stretch back to the 19th century.

1912 barbecue stand as for camp stew

What It Is & Where to Find It
Snack bars at fiddler conventions, pro-wrestling matches, National Guard Armories, high school football games, beauty pageants, and Baptist homecomings held across the entirety of the state reliably have big pots of camp stew burbling on the range. If you’re not from Alabama you may ask yourself, what is this dish? It’s the stuff of fever dreams: a potent witch’s brew of all manners of meats, vegetables, and starches including but not limited to common ingredients such as pork, beef, and chicken serving as proteins with tomatoes, onion, and corn filling the role of vegetables. Worcestershire sauce is a crucial component. Wild game like alligator, squirrel, quail, and feral hog may also be found in an adventurous cook’s stew.

A 1913 Alabama newspaper article mentions that Democrats and suffragettes alike enjoy camp stew

Beans: A Must-Have Ingredient
Butter beans, Limas, or Baby Limas are often included, and you may even find Great Northern beans or Pintos depending on what part of the state you’re exploring. “If it ain’t got beans in it, it ain’t camp stew,” is a common refrain heard when discussing the dish. Piscine versions of camp stew may be found as you explore diners and cafés alongside rivers like the Choctawhatchee, Black Warrior, and Escatawpa.

A 1908 recounting of a camp stew feast served to Alabama prisoners

Feeding the Masses in Good Times and Bad
In the early 20th century the penal colonies of the day were not immune to the charms of camp stew. The Montgomery city jail cooked a few large vats of the stuff to feed their prisoners at Thanksgiving time. Montgomery would prove itself to be a critical nexus in the furtherance of the popularity of camp stew as the 20th century gathered steam. Saloon keepers in the heart of the city began using the dish as a powerful magnet to get the drinking men to frequent their establishments. With purchase of a cocktail or cold draft beer, these enterprising business owners would set out a bowl of the stuff with nary a charge. When the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 struck, the good citizens of Alabama swung into motion and launched a camp stew-based charitable festival and sold a thousand tickets to a massive stew party held at the legendary Pickett Springs Resort near Montgomery. All the moneys were remitted to the citizens of San Francisco to assuage their suffering.

A 1931 advertisement seeking the services of a camp stew and barbecue man

A Badge of Honor
No less a luminary than legendary woodsman, author and naturalist Horace Kephart would soon integrate the cooking of camp stew into the regimen of becoming an official Boy Scout. In that halcyon era, a young scout had to demonstrate proficiency in the preparation of camp stew to earn his cooking merit badge. Want to become an Eagle Scout? Fire up that pot of camp stew, and it better taste good. By the time the 1930s came along, a regional derivation of camp stew called Lumberjack-style was being practiced in Jefferson County in the central portion of the state, but the details of what was surely pure deliciousness have been lost to the sands of time.

In 1949 the first canned camp stew made its way to market

A Canned Version, Extra Heavy on the Meat
At mid-century, a canned version of camp stew was being offered in Birmingham grocery stores but the enterprise was not fully formed enough to attach a name brand to the product. That would change as the Reynolds-Holston Canning Company of Troy, Alabama, soon waded into the fray with their own canned version of the food stuff. No strangers to marketing, the ads of the day trumpeted their product as being “extra heavy on meat”, and “100-year-old formula” was often prominently mentioned as well.

1960 ad for an Alabama barbecue stand featuring camp stew

Fundraising for Civil Rights & Putting Restaurants on the Map
As the Civil Rights-era dawned, camp stew played a prominent role in fundraising activities. Black women fanned out across Montgomery County, Alabama, selling fried catfish sandwiches, chicken and dumpling plates, and yes, camp stew. The money was plowed straight back into the movement, and these humble foods helped foment real change across the region. One now-successful restaurateur threw what she called “Heaven and Hell suppers” as she was trying to raise money to get her business going. A fiery camp stew would be served followed by ice cream and pound cake. Martha’s Place is now in its fourth decade and feeds upwards of 500 people daily. Camp Stew helped Martha Hawkins make her dream a reality. Camp stew is writ into the genetic code of Alabamians. The elixir has a thousand mothers and a thousand fathers, each claiming primacy. Truth be told, there is no “one true camp stew”. It’s the one that is currently in front of you that will most likely serve as the best one you ever ate. That is until you visit Aunt Hazel and Uncle Ralph’s cabin near Wetumpka this weekend, when a new ranking will be loudly and enthusiastically affirmed.

A young camp stew cook tending to his kettle in the early 1980s

This post hails from R.L. Reeves, Jr., a Texas photographer and writer who is living and documenting life in the 9th Ward of New Orleans. His recipes and cooking notes can be found on his food and culture blog, scrumptiouschef.com

NOTE: As of 10/2024, Mahoney’s is under new ownership and doesn’t serve red or white bean dishes and the French Quarter location ​is now closed​.

Mahony’s Po-Boys & Seafood’s Casey Levy had just received an urgent text from his staff at the French Quarter location. It wasn’t about the air-conditioning acting up or a delivery that hadn’t shown up yet. Nope – his staff wanted to know how soon he was going to bring the white beans over. White beans and rice — they are periodically on the menu as a special — are a favorite for staff and customers at Mahony’s.

Quality and consistency on the menu
For both the red bean and white bean dishes at Mahony’s, that meant using Camellia Beans.
“The quality and consistency achieved from about a century of maintaining those standards – how could we not want to use a local brand that lives that?” said Levy.

For every white bean there is a season
The white bean specials — Mahony’s uses Camellia Bean’s Great Northern variety — only happen about six months a year, divided somewhat by seasons. During the fall and winter months, that version is “looser, more old school style,” and is served with griddled shrimp with house seasoning that adds sweetness to it. The creamier version usually comes out during Hogs for the Cause, a culinary benefit in late March, and like the festival, is pork-centric.

Red beans: always on the menu
The red beans, which are always on the menu, are also made creamy. For that dish Levy “went to the drawing board … back to basics of what I learned early on in my family’s restaurants …. red beans old school, let the ingredients talk to themselves and figure out how they will handshake together.”

But instead of soaking the beans overnight using cold water, Levy said “we use hot water and add the smoked ham hock right away, with soaking only needed for five hours.”

After that, the smoked ham hock is removed, the beans are rinsed off quickly, then put back into the pot. “The absorbing of the smoky water into the beans gives them a different ‘bite’ when eating the beans. Lets you have that porky goodness without all the heavy oils needed,” said Levy.

Always cook the garlic in bacon fat
“Add your normal trinity, then garlic rendered in bacon fat,” said Levy, “a bay leaf and a little salt and pepper. We don’t add much seasoning at all.” They let the mixture simmer for a bit with the bay leaves and spices, then add in thin-sliced andouille sausage. “This will cook into the beans and give them that ‘lil extra flex,” says Levy.

Near the end of the cooking, when the red beans are creamy, a dab of Tabasco sauce is mixed in, before it is served with popcorn rice, smoked sausage and jalapeno butter cornbread. Some customers opt to have fried chicken with it.

Keeping it old school
“Like with many restaurants in Louisiana, the varying ways that they cook their beans lends to a great sampling of old school and newer flavors that can exist in the ‘kitchen sink’ cooking of the red and white beans world,” says Levy. “I like to think that ours has a taste and ‘feel’ that lets people remember a simpler way of cooking them and create that simmering of memory that made them fall in love with red beans in the first place.”

Mahony’s Po-Boys & Seafood, 3454 Magazine St., (504) 899-3374; 901 Iberville St., (504) 717-2422, mahonyspoboys.com

It’s just about 11:45 a.m., and Hurst Restaurant and Seafood already has people walking in. “Hey Carolyn; hey sweetheart,” Lisa Hurst says with a comforting familiarity to the two customers. Lanell Lumar, who has worked at the restaurant for nine years, joins in with “How you doing Bruce,” and already knows he is picking up his standard order of a hot sausage po-boy. It’s this bonhomie combined with the homemade cuisine that brings happy customers back time and time again.

Just a little thing in Kenner

“It was really just a little thing they had back when they started,” says Keenan Hurst about his grandparents, Katherine and LJ Hurst. In 1939, they founded LJ’s Restaurant and Lounge in Kenner, near where the restaurant is now. “They were selling liquor and plate food, and then it just picked up,” says Keenan. The restaurant changed its name to Hurst Chicken Shack in 1946, and then evolved into Hurst’s Restaurant and Seafood at its current location on Airline Drive, near Williams Boulevard and the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

Keepers of the Culinary Flame

Keenan joined the restaurant in 1998, and his sister Lisa, who runs the front of house, has been there slightly longer – 27 years. The duo runs the restaurant for their parents, Marilyn and Felton Hurst Sr., who will pop in occasionally. Felton received the Southern Foodways Alliance’s 2019 Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award, given to an “unsung hero or heroine, a foodways tradition bearer of note,” says the alliance website.

Red beans the way you like it

The restaurant’s most popular dish is red beans and rice. “We make our red beans and rice the same way she cooked it,” says Keenan, talking about his grandmother. And like his grandmother before him, Keenan uses Camellia Beans, continuing an 83-year family tradition. Lisa adds, “Camellia is all we’ve ever done. It would be a waste of time to use anything else.” The restaurant serves red beans every day of the week, with an addition of Camellia white beans on Thursdays only.

Lisa says she has customers who come in Tuesday through Friday to just eat the red beans and rice. The regulars, who include a few “who have been around since my grandmother,” says Keenan, like to customize what they want based on what is served with it each day, or what the daily special is.

For example, some just want the red beans, no rice, while others want the traditional combination. Or, the red beans (with or without rice) can be served with fried catfish (the most popular request), smothered or fried chicken, fried or smothered pork chops, fried sausage, even fried shrimp, and smothered barbecue ribs. Keenan said some customers even want the red beans but with the rice covered with whatever gravy was made that day.

To soak or not to soak

Keenan and his crew cook 16 pounds of red beans each day. He uses the trinity — celery, onions and bell pepper — and sautés with “our seasoning and some bacon grease.” He then adds pickled pork rib tips and tails. What he doesn’t do is soak the red beans. “We never did,” Keenan says.

Soaked or not, the red beans at Hurst Restaurant are not to be missed!

Hurst Restaurant and Seafood, 2152 Airline Dr., Kenner, (504) 467-1370. Hours: Tues.-Thurs., 11 a.m.- 6 p.m., Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Cash only.

Our quarterly subscription boxes deliver the joy of authentic Louisiana cooking, right to your door. And while the goodies in each box are a surprise, you can look forward to 5-10 favorites that include signature & heirloom beans, delicious seasonings, ingredients, tools for the kitchen, and everything in between. Plus, you’ll find some exclusive, handpicked items that are sure to delight. Find out more, and get cookin’.

Chipotle Bean Dip

A creamy blend of Frijoles de Olla and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce creates the perfect smoky dip for your favorite chips.

Field Pea Salsa

Colorful with a crunch, this delicious recipe features cooked and cooled Camellia Brand Field Peas, corn kernels, red onion, red bell pepper, and cilantro in a fresh lime juice dressing.

White Bean Pesto Pasta

A easy weeknight favorite, this dish comes together quickly with pasta, prepared or homemade pesto, cooked Camellia Brand Cannellini Beans, and Parmesan.

Where everyone knows your name
Café 615, Home of the Da Wabbit restaurant, with its iconic, vintage Bugs Bunny themed neon sign, began as a drive-in restaurant in 1948. Today it continues to be the place Westbankers (and others in the know) go for great New Orleans food. On a typical Monday, which is red beans and rice day, of course, it’s packed with diners. The waitresses are in nonstop motion and seem to know everyone by their first name. This familial feeling – not to mention the restaurant’s famed red beans – brings the neighborhood here, and that’s how owners Donna and Eric Savoie like it.

A restaurant history in neon
The Savoies bought this Gretna landmark in 2004 and renamed it Café 615, Home of Da Wabbit, keeping a link to its previous owner, “Da Wabbit” Licciardi, who won the building in a card game in 1946. Before Licciardi owned it, the business was a drive-up diner and bar called Kerner’s, which was also known as a place to gamble. Today, this old-school New Orleans tradition and the food keep bringing people back. “That’s how our business has grown – by just word of mouth or just locals,” says Dawn.

A red beans recipe for 300…and counting
When Eric recounts their red beans and rice recipe, he thinks in bulk – he says they serve about 300 portions on Mondays for lunch and dinner. He constructs his dish in steps: “We start with 50 pounds of dry beans. Add around 10 to 12 large bay leaves, then add two cups of liquid smoke and eight large smoked ham hocks. We boil it until the beans are soft, then add four cups of chopped garlic and 35 pounds of smoked sausage cut in quarters. We cook that until the garlic is soft, then add two pounds of non-salted butter. Then let it cook for two to three hours.”

Two pounds of butter – yes indeed!
The butter, he says, makes the mixture creamy. Eric then adds three or four stalks of celery chopped, 15 bell peppers, and 25 large onions, all chopped, which are all cooked down. “You don’t cook it until you can’t see the seasoning, because you still want to see the seasoning. We just cook it until it’s translucent, so it’s soft, but visible, and then we add salt.” The dish is completed with a side of a pork chop or smoked sausage.

Red beans, white beans… but always Camellia Beans
The only beans Eric will use, which also include the Thursday special of white beans and rice, are Camellia Beans. “It’s a family tradition,” said Eric, to use the beans. And it’s one that can’t be messed with. It’s staple and most people that come in are getting the red beans,” Dawn notes. “It’s a New Orleans thing.”

Pork chop or smothered rabbit on the side
For the white beans and rice – which can be ordered with pork chop or smothered rabbit (not the “wascally” kind) – Eric uses a different cooking technique: “We boil navy beans in plain water until they are soft, then we add regular onions, green onions, pickled meat, salt and pepper to taste. We check it until the pickled meat is tender and the beans are soft and creamy. Way easier than the red beans!”

Café 615, Home of Da Wabbit, 615 Kepler St., Gretna, 504-365-1225, cafe615.com

Edgar Chase IV has fond memories of red beans and rice, starting from when he was a small child. “In New Orleans, it is your Monday night meal. It’s also Carnival — going out to enjoy the parades and have some red beans and rice,” explains Chase.

He learned how to make the dish from his grandmother, Leah Chase, also known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine, whose culinary skills brought people from across the globe to Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans – and made them fans for life. Leah Chase started in the family business after she married Dooky Chase, Jr. in 1946, and her culinary prowess was never short on admirers. The list includes Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush and musicians Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, to name just a few. In fact, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in Washington, DC celebrates her life and legacy with an exhibit featuring artifacts like her cooking pot, restaurant menu, and one of her iconic bright pink chef’s jackets. And there was even a Disney movie that drew inspiration from her true story: The Princess and the Frog.

Let that bean work!

Edgar Chase IV took over when Chef Leah passed away in 2019, and he’s honored to carry on her legacy. “Growing up, everyone [in the family] worked in the restaurant,” said Chase, who started out washing dishes and busing tables at around 14 years old. Chase added, “I always wanted to hang in the back of the kitchen.” He’d watch his grandmother, then go home and re-create a dish from the restaurant, then bring it in for her to taste. “Her palate was so amazing, she picked up any misstep,” Chase said. “She would say ‘You need more of this … cook longer…’ and whatever she said, it came out better.” Among those dishes was red beans and rice. “We start with the smoked ham shank and smoked sausage, add salt, pepper and thyme and really just cook slowly to let that bean work,” he said, “then we finish with black pepper and vegetable oil to cream them up.”

The beans are going to speak for themselves.

“When you are cooking with Camellia Red Beans,” said Chase, “you are starting with quality. And you don’t have to do too much to red beans and rice to make it shine.” Chase is among those in the kitchen making the dish, including his cousin Cleo Robinson and Mister Bynah — better known as “Mister B” — who are making sure the red beans and rice are ready when the restaurant opens. Robinson is also the cook for the restaurant’s famed fried chicken, which is served with red beans and rice. Other dishes that lure in diners are the shrimp Clemenceau, stewed chicken, crawfish étouffée, Creole gumbo and Leah Chase’s famous gumbo z’herbes, a dish traditionally served for the Catholic observance of Holy Thursday. 

More than the sum of its food.

Leah and Dooky made sure that the restaurant was always more than just a place to eat; it was also a safe community gathering spot during segregation, and as such it played an integral role in the Civil Rights movement. In honor of this history, it was recently placed on the state’s Civil Rights Trail. Dooky Chase’s Restaurant continues to stay its course in the community as a culinary icon, a gathering place,  a way of life – and a celebration of New Orleans.

Written by Sue Strachan

To understand how important the Fiorella family has been to the food culture of New Orleans, just ask the folks who line up early at Fiorella’s Cafe in Gentilly, waiting for the doors to open. They wait for that hot and crunchy, award-winning fried chicken that is perfectly seasoned down to the bone. Some are there for the wide variety of po-boys on the menu. And many are there early on Mondays for first dibs on the hearty, smoky Monday red beans and rice before they sell out.

Family Recipes from a French Quarter Restaurant

Owners Kelly and Calcie Fiorella are carrying on a family tradition, with family recipes, based on the original Fiorella’s Restaurant on Decatur Street in the New Orleans French Quarter, which was operated by their dad, CJ Fiorella, until he closed it 1999. As that restaurant’s origin story goes, CJ was a New Orleans grocer of Sicilian descent who just wanted a good cup of coffee. Every day CJ would make his way to the French Market to buy fresh produce. After taking care of business, he would stop in the Market Place Restaurant and purchase a coffee. One day in 1984, the restaurant’s owner, Anthony Bianca, who knew CJ and his family and their love of cooking, approached him and offered to sell him the restaurant. It took a bit of pushing from a friend, but CJ finally accepted, and Fiorella’s was born.
CJ renamed it Fiorella’s Cafe and brought a large amount of the family’s own recipes to the restaurant. Not completely satisfied with the menu, he began to walk around the French Quarter and look at the different menus to see what others were doing. Since this was a family style neighborhood spot, he wanted to make sure he offered red beans and rice on Mondays, served butter beans another day, and stayed true to a typical New Orleans menu – but with a Fiorella spin.
“When my brother and I decided to reopen the family restaurant here in Gentilly, I said to him, I’m the one doing all of the cooking,” said Kelly Fiorella. He was not only excited to be back in the kitchen but also to bring back the original family recipes, including the famous fried chicken (they go through about 80 to 100 pounds of it per day).

How do you red bean, Fiorella’s?

Fiorellas Cafe in Gentilly on June 14, 2021.

One plate you will only find on Monday is red beans and rice – a recipe that was handed down from Kelly’s grandmother. “It was a tradition, and it was always with Camellia beans,” he said. “There were always little bags of Camellia beans in the pantry,” he said. “She also had stacks of Camellia white beans, red beans, navy and black-eyed peas. I can remember always seeing that little Camellia logo.”
On a typical Monday, Fiorella’s goes through about 10 to 12 pounds of Camellia red beans, according to Kelly. It’s all made fresh Monday morning and usually sells out by mid-afternoon. And when it’s gone for the day, it’s gone. Fiorella’s red beans recipe is a hearty one. You will find the hint of bacon with the onions, bell peppers, and garlic. They add ham, pork shoulder, and andouille sausage. The key to a good pot of beans, Kelly says, is to cook them low and slow.

Fiorella’s Weekday Specials – A Schedule to Live By

Kelly also uses Camellia’s large lima beans for the Thursday special of butter beans and rice. “I love the butter beans,” he said. “They’ve got so much flavor to them.” Other weekday specials include meatloaf on Tuesdays, Italian sausage and shells on Wednesday, and shrimp Creole on Fridays. The menu also includes favorite family classics like meatballs and spaghetti, veal parmesan, hamburger steak, fried seafood, a variety of po-boys, and of course, the fried chicken. In both 2016 and 2017, Kelly and Calcie earned the “best fried chicken” award at the National Fried Chicken Festival.

“It’s all family recipes,” said Kelly. “The red beans is a family recipe handed down.”

Fiorellas Cafe in Gentilly on June 14, 2021.

Kelly’s love of cooking was sparked early on, when visiting his grandmother. “Every time you walked into that woman’s house, it smelled like she was cooking a pot of red gravy or something,” he said. “That’s my grandmother’s meatballs that we use with the spaghetti. She taught us her recipes.”
The history of those who came before him is important to Kelly. Black and white photographs of relatives decorate the walls and serve as reminders of the legacy he wants to continue and build upon. The building itself has historical importance, too. The Fiorellas have had a longtime friendship with the Bologna family that formerly operated Teddy’s Grill at this location. To pay homage to that friendship and what the restaurant meant to the Gentilly neighborhood, two black plastic bull heads from Teddy’s Grill watch over the dining room. “We always just wanted to stay true to what is tradition in New Orleans,” Kelly added.

Written by Eric Olsson

We’re thrilled to announce that a Camellia Brand red beans & rice story is part of the Cultural Expressions permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. Cultural Expressions is a circular, experiential, introductory space to African American and African diaspora culture, and its Foodways gallery explores the magnitude of the African American hand in the food and foodways of the United States and beyond. Profiles of chefs and restaurant owners (including beloved Chef Leah Chase) accompany explorations of different cuisines, cookware, and tools used in the procurement and service to food. The museum re-opened to the public on May 14, 2021.

Red Beans & Rice is a Dish of the Diaspora

Explains Museum Curator Joanne T. Hyppolite, Ph.D., “In the Foodways gallery, there’s a story about red beans and rice. And we talk about the fact that red beans and rice itself is a diasporic food or foodway – because it’s made from all of these confluences of different cultures that landed in Louisiana – the French, the Spanish, and the Caribbean. We know the beans themselves probably arrived from Haiti, we know the spices had a lot of Spanish influence, the sauces have a lot of French influence, and then of course you have the African hand cooking all of that and mixing it all together and creating this entirely new cuisine we now know as Creole cuisine.”

Attributed to Hunter, Clementine, American, ca. 1886 – 1988 Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Rand and Dana Jack family, in honor of Rand’s grandmother, Blythe Rand, who early recognized and supported the special talents of Clementine Hunter. © Cane River Art Corporation

A Monday “Washday” Tradition

Caribbean recipes for beans and rice were brought to New Orleans in the late 1700s by French-speaking Haitians and were quickly adapted by locals, who appreciated the thrifty, convenient practice of tossing meaty ham bones leftover from Sunday suppers into simmering pots of red kidney beans. Because the beans could be left to cook, undisturbed, over a low flame for hours, local housewives and housekeepers cooked them on Mondays — while simultaneously tackling the Monday drudgery known as “laundry day.” Despite the modern convenience of washing machines and dryers, the Monday red beans tradition continues to this day. In fact, several washday paintings by Clementine Hunter are on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture.

Proud to Be a Part of Creole Cuisine

In the Foodways gallery, a bag of Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans is featured alongside a cookbook called Red Beans & Ricely Yours – Recipes from New Orleans that Louis Armstrong Loved by Christopher Blake, and a photo of our beloved Monday meal. The exhibit also notes that as many as 90% of New Orleanians use Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans.

It’s snack time. Let’s air-fry some chickpeas!
Air fryers are the latest popular kitchen gadget, and for good reason. Cooking with an air fryer has so many advantages! First, foods that are generally fried in a deep fryer can be prepared in the air fryer with the same taste and ease, but with way less calories and fat. Even if you’re not preparing fried foods, air fryers are a great way to get crispy roasted veggies and juicy meat without using as much oil.

Air fryers are essentially countertop convection ovens. Like a convection oven, air fryers circulate hot air around the food you are preparing to ensure foods are crisp and browned on the outside, but still juicy on the inside. Some of the perks of using an air fryer versus a traditional oven are that you often don’t have to preheat them at all, taking away the wait time. For those that do need to preheat, the time is still minimal compared to a normal oven. If you are cooking recipes where the desired outcome is crisp and browned, such as roasting, you will have much more success in an air fryer. Cooking in an air fryer leads to a much more even result, with less turning or basting necessary as the heat is evenly distributed around the food. Air fryers are also great for slow roasting small items when you don’t want to heat your entire oven up!

Crispy bites the whole family will love.
Whether you are craving something salty or sweet, crispy garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) make a delicious, healthy snack the whole family will love. Try our Spicy New Orleans Air Fryer Chickpeas for a salty snack with a kick, or if you prefer to satisfy your sweet tooth, make some Texas Honey Air Fryer Chickpeas. Crispy chickpeas are a great snack to have on hand for cravings throughout the week or to serve at your next gathering. You can also use them as a crunchy salad topping!

For these crispy chickpea recipes, the air fryer was perfect. The air fryer’s convection-style heat first helped dry out the chickpeas, leading to a much crispier, more satisfying result than cooking these guys in the oven. To make them perfectly crispy, you will want to set the heat high to dry them out in the air fryer for a few minutes after they are cooked in your Instant Pot. Once they are dried out, they will need a little bit of oil, but not too much. Opening the basket and spraying them with cooking oil and giving the basket a quick shake to toss them is all you need. Once they are done cooking, just toss them with your preferred seasoning for the perfect, healthy snack.

Take these sweet and tangy baby lima beans on your next picnic, even if it’s inside at your kitchen table. This baby lima recipe gets that picnic flavor from the same baked bean sweet and sour taste we know and love. Instead of tomatoes and molasses, this recipe uses onions and celery quick-pickled in honey and vinegar. Quick pickling is a great way to get the same depth of flavor as traditional pickling in less time. This light flavor profile allows the earthy flavor of the baby limas to shine through while still getting that perfect picnic taste.

More sweet notes come from deeply caramelized onion and roasted red pepper. Save time by roasting your red pepper directly over a gas stove using tongs to turn it until the skin is mostly blackened. The char of the peppers gives the beans a subtle, barbecue flavor that will complement any grilled dishes. Fresh mint picked from the garden adds color and the taste of more sunny days to come.

Enjoy the salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami flavors of this dish at your next outdoor – or indoor – summer get-together.

Jim Dixon, founder of wellspentmarket.com, shares his philosophy of baked beans and his baby limas recipe with us. Jim is a recovering food writer who likes to cook and eat. He needs an endless supply of good olive oil.

Unfortunately, due to losses from Hurricane Ida in 2021, Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine is now officially closed after serving soul food to generations of New Orleanians.

Since Celestine Dunbar was a child, Camellia beans have been a part of her life in one way or another. “I can see my mother right now using one of those little packs of Camellia beans,” said Dunbar. “I can’t remember her ever not using them. They were just a part of our family.”

Cooking for her family is how Dunbar gained the confidence to open Dunbar’s Creole Cooking on Freret Street in 1986. “There were seven children, and it was their job to get up in the morning and make breakfast for the family. Then, they would turn around and start making lunch. I helped out and cooked a lot.” 

In the beginning, Dunbar’s offered deli sandwiches in keeping with the deli business she’d taken over at that location, but eventually she began to cook hot meals at her house and bring them in to sell. Many of the recipes were ones that her parents and grandmother taught her to make. Each day she would bring in a different special. Monday was red beans and rice. Tuesday was cabbage and barbecue chicken. Wednesday was meatballs and spaghetti. Many of these specials are still served to this day, and all of them are the same family recipes.

Celestine Dunbar never stopped cooking

For almost 20 years, Dunbar’s Creole Cooking was a fixture on Freret Street, but that all ended in 2005 after she lost the restaurant to the floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina and the fight with insurance companies that followed. To keep the Dunbar’s name out there, she went back to her roots of cooking in her own home kitchen and selling the food elsewhere. Her first stop was the food court at the Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans. After five years of serving students Uptown, she went on to deliver hot pre-plated meals to the workers on lunch at the Chalmette refinery.

This allowed Dunbar time to save up and purchase a new location, and she found that location in 2017 at 7834 Earhart Boulevard in New Orleans. Though the name of the restaurant changed to Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine, everything else stayed the same when they moved into the bigger location. Longtime friend and chef, Frank Jones, rejoined her as head of the kitchen. “He knows all of the recipes,” Dunbar said about Jones, who has been with her for over 30 years. “Frank does it all.”

“All they want is Camellia beans” 

As lunchtime hits, locals come out for the red beans and rice. “We sell them every day,” Dunbar said. “They’ll buy the red beans and rice before they’ll buy anything else.” She admits that over 60% of sales are for the red beans with fried chicken. On most days they go through about 12 pounds of Camellia red beans and up to 25 pounds a day during Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras.

The recipe for the beans has been the same since the beginning. “We start with the trinity (white onions, green bell pepper, and celery) along with a lot of water,” Dunbar stated. “Then, you boil the trinity with garlic, green onions, granulated garlic, and a little parsley until the vegetables have become soft. You add your meat and seasoning (a special blend of black pepper and cayenne pepper) when the beans are about 90% done. This gives it it’s flavor.”

There are two tricks she offers for making the beans nice and creamy. The first trick is to add vegetable oil in the beginning. Dunbar says that by doing this, it will not only prevent the beans from boiling over and ruining the seasonings but will also help make the beans creamy. The other trick, or secret she learned from her mother all those years before, is to use Camellia brand red beans. “Camellia brand beans are just the best red beans there is. They are pink, fresh, and you just always get a beautiful red bean.”

Giving back to the community

Like many restaurants throughout New Orleans, Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine worked with the Chef’s Brigade NOLA, a united coalition of restaurants and chefs working together to offer food to those in need during the COVID pandemic, including front line responders, and healthcare workers. Dunbar said that they use Camellia brand lima beans and serve them with baked chicken seasoned with the “Louisiana Trinity” over a bed of white rice. The Chef’s Brigade produced up to 60,000 meals a day, utilizing independent restaurants throughout Orleans Parish to feed at-risk residents and neighbors throughout New Orleans.

Dunbar is happy that the restaurant can do its part in giving back to the community. She understands that the people of New Orleans have been an integral part in the continued success of her restaurant and rallied behind her to keep Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine going. Though there have been many ups and downs and stressful days, she always looks forward to what is to come – and there are exciting new plans. And through it all, she says that one thing will be certain, “people will come from all over the world and ask for those Camellia red beans and rice with fried chicken.”

Unfortunately, due to losses from Hurricane Ida in 2021, Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine is now officially closed after serving soul food to generations of New Orleanians.

Written by Eric Olsson

If the walls could talk.

Pimm’s Cups, intrigue, first dates, proposals of varying sorts, assignations, Creole flavors and a place to rest after a long day in the French Quarter — Napoleon House hasn’t changed much since 1914 when this famed bar and restaurant was opened by the Impastato family.

But if the walls could talk, Napoleon House would start telling tales from an earlier time when the building was owned by Nicolas Girod. Nicolas was a businessman, mayor of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815, and a dreamer and schemer. Soon after inheriting the building in 1814, he began to alter it, creating the three-story building that we see today. Legend says the work was done in preparation for the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose supporters — rumored to include local pirates Jean Lafitte and Dominique You — were planning to help him escape from exile in Saint Helena and come to New Orleans.

Napoleon died before this alleged escape plan came to fruition, but his portraits still preside over the Napoleon House on the faded plaster walls, and the stern bust of his countenance surveys the dreamily illuminated bar and restaurant where cocktails and classic New Orleans cuisine rule the day and night.

Red Beans on Monday

In 2015, executive Chef Chris Montero of the Ralph Brennan restaurant group took the helm at Napoleon House, where he is also the general manager. Montero, who’s from an 8th-generation New Orleans family and well-versed in classic Creole cuisine, kept many of the original Impastato family recipes, merely tweaking them with artisan-made ingredients. At the top of that list of was Monday red beans and rice.

Montero grew up sampling different red beans and rice styles: his grandmother preferred ham hock, pickled pork, and a spicy smoked sausage; his mother rendered pork and sausage. For his own version of red beans, Montero harkens back to his grandmother’s classic Creole cooking. “I make it with chicken stock,“ he said.

Sausage that tastes good and does good.

One of the two sausages Montero uses in Napoleon House red beans is a Creole smoked sausage that has a local — and philanthropic — origin. As part of “Silence of da Hams,” a team that competes in Hogs for the Cause (a barbecue competition held in New Orleans that’s an annual benefit for pediatric brain cancer), Montero helped develop the sausage. It’s also available in grocery stores, and a portion of its sales goes to Hogs.

Camellia in the (Napoleon) House

Montero also uses Camellia Brand beans. As he put it, “To me this is the only brand people buy.” Montero leaves the important job of preparing the dish at Napoleon House to Josh Bierria, the restaurant’s production chef. A “behind-the-scenes” person, Bierria is an essential part of the team, said Montero. “Josh’s Camellia red beans and rice have become a big item on Goldbelly.com” said Montero, adding, “Two weeks ago we shipped 200 cases of red beans and rice in a day, all over the U.S.” Would Napoleon have liked red beans and rice? Montero contemplates for a moment and answers, “Why, not?!”

Written by Sue Strachan

Forty-five years ago, Leo Christakis decided to purchase Mena’s Palace in the French Quarter as a way to move back to Greece. When he learned that the restaurant was for sale, he told his brother, Leo, “Let’s buy it, make some money to save up, and move back to Greece.” His brother agreed. But as the years went on and the business continued to thrive, Christakis and his family began to build relationships and friendships with those who lived around the restaurant. “In my culture,” he said, “you go to a friend’s house, and they ask you what do you want to eat? What do you want to drink? Then, we sit around and talk, and drink, and eat. That is how we do it here, that is how we take care of our customers.”

“He refuses to buy any other brand than Camellia.”

“It’s all he’s ever cooked with,” said Leo’s daughter and restaurant co-owner Ellie Christakis, referring to her dad. “One time, an order came in for lima beans. Our supplier had sent a different brand and we had used them because we had to make some lima beans. He tasted it. ‘No. These aren’t Camellia,’ he said. ‘Don’t order anything but Camellia.’ And we definitely learned our lesson. The color was different. The taste was different. It’s amazing what a difference Camellia makes.”

Start with the trinity.

At Mena’s they start their red beans with the trinity (onions, bell peppers and celery). They sauté it down and add smoked sausage as the seasoning meat. Once the red beans are added, they cook them for a long time to get to that creamy texture and serve them with fried chicken or smoked sausage on the side. Ellie Christakis explained that the family uses Camellia products at home, too. She makes the Greek soup ‘Fakes’ with Camellia lentils. The soup (pronounced ‘Fah-kehs’) is traditionally made with lentils, water, red onions, garlic, bay leaves and a tomato puree (if you want it reddened) and served with an added drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lots of vinegar. “There’s another one called a ‘Fasolada’ and it uses a Great Northern Bean. And we only use Camellia,” Ellie Christakis said of the soup that many consider to be one of the national dishes of Greece.

Here for the community.

One thing that has been certain about Mena’s Palace and the Christakis family is that they have always put the needs of the neighborhood first. Whether it was coming back from Hurricane Katrina or riding out the pandemic, their top priorities have always been to treat everyone like family, keep prices low, serve big portions of high-quality food, and remain consistent. “We appreciate our customers and the relationships and friendships we have with them,” Ellie Christakis said. “New Orleans is such a nice city, especially in the French Quarter. There are so many good people. A lot of warmth and love.”

New Orleans is home.

“I wanted to move back to Greece, but never did,” said Leo Christakis reflecting on his decision to stay in New Orleans and continue operating Mena’s Palace with his family. “You get to understand the people, and I loved that. I wanted to see the customers happy and the rest took care of itself. I am 77. I’m still working, and I still like it.”

Written by Eric Olsson

Our quarterly subscription boxes deliver the joy of authentic Louisiana cooking, right to your door. And while the goodies in each box are a surprise, you can look forward to 5-10 favorites that include signature & heirloom beans, delicious seasonings, ingredients, tools for the kitchen, and everything in between. Plus, you’ll find some exclusive, handpicked items that are sure to delight. Find out more, and get cookin’.

Bean Quinoa Salad

Light, fresh, and protein-packed, this Quinoa Salad is delicious and makes a great weekday lunch or side dish. Swap out Black Beans for the Small Red Beans in this summer’s subscription box. Smaller and darker in color than our Red Kidney Beans, the colorful, diminutive red beans possess a rich, nutty flavor. Side note: We love our Small Red Beans in this creamy Avocado Bean Salad from Gimme Delicious.

Another item you’ll find is Dagostino extra virgin olive oil. (Be sure to use it in the quinoa salad dressing!) It’s first press cold-extracted from the best Sicilian olives, golden yellow in color, and carries the scent of fresh olives — offering a fruity flavor with an almond aftertaste.

Lil’ Auntie’s Lady Cream Peas

In this recipe, Lady Cream Peas (another item in the box) are slowly simmered with butter or your favorite seasoning meat. They feature a sweet flavor and creamy texture and pair perfectly with a side of cornbread and smothered okra.

Elizabeth’s Perfectly Pink Beans

Don’t miss our Pink Beans + a special BBQ seasoning packet for making BBQ baked beans! For similar flavor, try Elizabeth’s Perfectly Pink Beans, slowly simmered with salt pork or a ham hock, chili powder, dry mustard, molasses and onion. Both dishes are delicious alongside the smoky grilled meats of summer.

Etta Sullivan, Lily Taylor, and my grandma Nellie Sullivan. Photo courtesy of R.L. Reeves, Jr.

This post hails from R.L. Reeves, Jr., a Texas photographer and writer who is living and documenting life in the 9th Ward of New Orleans. His recipes and cooking notes can be found on his food and culture blog, scrumptiouschef.com

“Boy you’re not gonna amount to a hill of beans.”

That was my grandma Nellie Sullivan’s standard exclamation anytime I did something that got her ire up.

That was about as strong a ‘talking to’ as I ever received, but in the Cumberland Highlands of Eastern Kentucky that was plenty stout enough.

In the early part of the 20th century a hill of pinto beans had such little worth the good mountain people of the region quit growing them.

It was cheaper and less taxing on the granny women who tended the gardens to just saddle up one of the family’s mules and ride down to Bargo’s General Store and buy a big sack for a few pennies.

That’s how the invective “…hill of beans” came to be.

I’ve lived all over the southern region of the United States and have never found bean-loving cultures as strong as the ones in Eastern Kentucky and Louisiana, specifically New Orleans.

Let’s discuss:

Ham hock vs Creole or hot sausage.

The standard protein for a bowl of Appalachian pinto beans is a giant ham hock with plenty meat attached. You lower it into the broth along with the dry beans and magic occurs over the next two hours as the beans turn tender and the silky ham meat falls off the bone.

Here in New Orleans we do the same thing but with the addition of Creole or ‘hot’ sausage serving as a meaty garnish that straddles a bowl of Camellia kidney beans.

There is a deep love in this part of Louisiana for ‘pickle meat,’ a hold-over from the pre-refrigeration era in Louisiana. If your family had a surfeit of fresh hog meat they had to figure out a way to preserve it to last them through the winter. Pickling that fresh meat ensured that they would have plenty protein to last them throughout the year without the luxury of a big Frigidaire in their kitchen.

That pickled pork meat was and is a standard part of the red beans kettle.

When I was a little kid, hog killing time was marked by the first frost. That’s when the pigs kept in my grandpa Big Jim Sullivan’s pen knew the end of their days had come. Pickling was my grandma’s forte and was reserved for vegetables. Big Jim had a smokehouse in the backyard with 50-pound bags of saltpetre at the ready. The fresh meat was covered with a blend of that sodium nitrate along with regular salt and that combination cured and preserved the meat to great effect.

Hickory smoked, cured ham hocks were part and parcel of every pot of pinto soup beans that my grandma ever made.

Corn bread vs French bread.

I still remember the look of disdain I received from a New Orleans waitress when I asked after cornbread on a vacation here back in the 80s. “We don’t serve that dawlin” she flatly stated. My mind raced. How was I supposed to soak up the likker in the bottom of my bowl? A foot-long loaf of French bread quickly arrived to table, and it was fine but not in the same league as a pone of hot cornbread garnished with a hunk of cow’s butter. If you opened a diner in Eastern Kentucky and did not serve cornbread you’d go belly up within a month. If you tried the same thing in New Orleans sans French bread you’d shutter just as quick.

Any day of the week vs Monday.

Across the Appalachian mountains of Eastern Kentucky folks hit the kitchen on a nightly basis to cook up a kettle of pinto beans. There is not a traditional “bean day.” Here in New Orleans we do things a little different. Monday is the day that cooks across the city fire up the bean pot to feed family and friends. Restaurants here further the tradition by putting sandwich boards on the sidewalk in front of their establishment with quaint artwork trumpeting the kitchen’s bean output for the day.

Fried potatoes vs rice.

Every pinto bean cook in Kentucky has their own particular way they fry their potatoes as a standard side for their beans. My daddy would cut Irish potatoes into crude batons and slowly cook them in rendered hog lard with plenty yellow onion til the potatoes were crisp and the onions were tawny brown and fully caramelized. You’d then take the potatoes and put them in the bowl with the beans and make a heavenly mash.

In New Orleans we simply boil up a pot of good rice, put the rice into the bottom of the bowl and pour the beans over the top. If you’re really feeling enterprising you may also toss a cube of bouillon in the rice kettle.

Piccalilli vs hot sauce.

That rich pot of beans you’ve been simmering on your stovetop all day needs an acidic counterpoint to give it a little jolt. In Kentucky that call is answered by piccalilli, a lightly-fermented jar-bound melange of vegetables that have been treated with vinegar and allowed to mature in a dark cupboard. In New Orleans we crack open a bottle of Crystal or Tabasco hot sauce and douse the beans with the liquid fire.

Chile spice is foreign to the Kentucky tongue, where people will talk of how a bell pepper “lit them up.” Down here on the bayous we love our hot peppers, and are always figuring out ways to get a little extra heat in our dishes.

I’m left to wonder who has the stronger bean culture, Kentucky or Louisiana?

Neither. This is not a zero sum game. Each place has a clutch of dedicated eaters and cooks who pour their heart into their bean kettles. I’ve been fortunate to call both states home and you won’t find a place on earth with more welcoming people – and you can’t beat the cooks or the food cultures of either.

As you walk up to, the aroma of fried chicken fills the air. People from all over the world line up and wait, sometimes hours, to enter Willie Mae’s Scotch House, a small two-room restaurant in the historic Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. They’re attracted by not only the aroma of perfectly fried chicken, but also by the accolades from the Food Network, the Travel Channel and the James Beard Foundation, which declared it an “American Classic Restaurant” for carrying on the traditions of great regional cuisine.

At one time, Willie Mae’s was just a corner spot that was only known within the neighborhood. It started out as a bar in 1957, then after moving to its current location, a beauty salon was added in the front because Willie Mae Seaton always wanted to be a beautician. She began to cook in the small kitchen behind the bar to feed the customers and soon after, they were telling her that she needed to open her own restaurant. In the early 1970s, the beauty shop was closed to make room for those who were coming in to eat the smothered veal, pork chops and that crispy, spicy fried chicken.

As word got around, the dining room, which seems more someone’s house than an actual restaurant, began to fill up. In May of 2005, the award from the James Beard Foundation put the old scotch house on the radar of every food critic, journalist, and tourist from around the country, and the lines stretched longer. But just months later, the restaurant was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that followed it.

After almost three years of rebuilding, with the help of countless volunteers and family members, Willie Mae’s Scotch House reopened to great acclaim. Willie Mae stepped aside and her great-granddaughter, Kerry Seaton-Stewart, carries on the tradition of the famed family-owned restaurant. The national praise of their fried chicken took off.

“Then of course there’s the trinity – celery, bell peppers and onions.”

Kerry Seaton-Stewart grew up in the kitchen with her great-grandmother and grandmother. “She had me in the kitchen with her my whole life,” Seaton-Stewart said, who began working at Willie Mae’s as a teenager. “She would require that I cooked all of these cultural meals. All the traditional meals. At school, they would fix red beans for lunches and I would just play with it because they were not my grandmother’s beans. I was always comparing and measuring the standard of red beans.”

But Seaton-Stewart knew that adapting to changing times was important to keep the restaurant moving forward. She noticed that those who lived outside of the southern region were not accustomed to eating lots of pork and fatty meats like they used in the pot of red beans or butter beans. “I felt the vegan wave coming on and I just wanted to be ahead of it and be inclusive,” she said. “That way, if people came in and they weren’t all pork eaters they can still eat it. I’ve been making them vegan for 14 years now.”

By switching the red beans and butter beans, which are large lima beans, to vegan, she felt that the actual flavor of the two dishes were lifted. One of the enhancements she found while doing taste tests with family and friends, was to include extra bay leaves. “Bay leaves are a must,” she said. “Then of course the trinity – celery, bell peppers and onions – and then some garlic.”  But the not-so-secret ingredient is in the red beans themselves.

“We use Camellia because it’s just a better grade of beans.”

Seaton-Stewart said that you can tell that the quality of Camellia beans is better than any other brands simply by the way they are farmed and cultivated.” You don’t have all the rocks in there and broken beans,” she said. “Camellia is high quality and they just cream better so you know when you cook them it’s going to make a good bean sauce. No other beans are going to be creamy like that.”

Expanding the tradition

Willie Mae’s Scotch House has been as popular as ever. After 60 years at the corners of St. Ann and Tonti in the Treme neighborhood, Seaton-Stewart expanded into the Central Business District food hall, Pythian Market, in 2019, with a condensed version of the restaurant. The new location still features the same iconic fried chicken and red beans and rice and will help meet the supply and demand to the loyal longtime following of locals and tourists to keep the legacy going.

“Red Beans tells the story of the culture of New Orleans,” Seaton-Stewart said. “It means home to me. It makes me think of my family because we have so many good times and great memories eating a pot of red beans.”

Written by Eric Olsson

In the middle of the ever-changing Bywater neighborhood in New Orleans, there is an unassuming yellow store front at the corners of Dauphine and Piety streets. Take one step inside the small grocery store and it’s like you are stepping back in time to the early 1970s.

The building that houses Frady’s One Stop has been around for more than a hundred years. Before Joseph Frady bought the going-out-of-business Flick’s Meat Market in 1972, it was an open-air fruit stand. Frady bought the meat market with two goals in mind: to turn it into a corner grocery store and to serve the best cold drinks and sandwiches. 

After Frady’s One Stop opened and word spread around the neighborhood about the food, locals began to ask for more than just sandwiches. To accommodate the customers, Frady had a small kitchen installed behind the counter with deep fryers and a stove and began to serve hot lunches and daily specials. Year after year, the list of po-boy sandwiches and daily specials could be found scrawled across the black chalkboards that decorate the interior.

A red beans tradition.

“Right away my father started to serve red beans and rice on Mondays because they were coming in and asking for it,” said Kirk Frady, who now runs the food store. “My dad was born and raised in New Orleans and grew up like that with my grandmother. Monday was wash day, and red beans and rice. People came into Frady’s and expected that.”

You’ll not only find packages of Camellia Beans being offered for sale on the grocery store shelf, but it’s also a Monday ‘lunch special’ that is served to-go with either smoked sausage or chicken, a vegetable (such as mustard or collard greens) and a dessert (bread pudding or a cobbler) for a price that has had loyal locals and in-the-know tourists coming back for decades.

“I don’t know where the recipe came from.”

“We usually cook four to five pounds of Camellia Red Beans every Monday,” Kirk Frady said. “I don’t know where the recipe came from. My dad hired a cook, an older lady, and she lived next door. She would soak the beans overnight, then she would come in and cook them. And it’s still the recipe we’re using today.”

To make the beans extra creamy, Kirk Frady says to use lots of butter along with mashing the beans in the end. To get that extra depth of flavor, besides onions, bell pepper, and garlic, he recommends using lots of celery. “We’re big on celery,” he said.

“We’ve always used Camellia. They have always been here and are established in New Orleans.”

Frady’s One Stop has established itself as a mainstay in an old neighborhood that is rapidly evolving around it. Away from the colorful residential streets that are lined with rows and rows of double shotgun houses and Creole cottages, the industrial spaces are being reclaimed and transformed as artists and musicians move in. Bed and breakfasts are sprouting up to meet the demand of tourists visiting this quirky, laid-back part of New Orleans.

“It’s a working-class neighborhood. We get a lot of carpenters and electricians, who are working on these old houses, come in to eat with us because it is an easy meal,” Kirk Frady said, “but with the Bywater being such a destination now, we’re selling a lot more groceries, like beans and hot sauces in little gift baskets because they want to take them back to where they are staying or send them back home. Even though they did not grow up with wash day and soaking beans, they know the drill and they want to take Camellia red beans and a Barq’s with them.”

“No Wifi at Frady’s. Sit and talk.”

At its core, Frady’s One Stop is still an old-world type of neighborhood grocery store, but deep down it’s one of the best spots to grab a bite to eat in New Orleans. While a small portion of the menu changes daily, the list of the sixteen po-boys offered along with the selection of breakfast that is served all day remains a fixture, just like the sign that reads “No Wifi at Frady’s. Sit and Talk.” So take your red beans and rice to go, sit outside on one of the colorfully painted benches, enjoy the charming neighborhood and know that no matter how much the area changes around you, the folks at Frady’s know what it means to be New Orleanians.

Written by Eric Olsson

Dried beans might just be one of the most versatile foods around.

Basic Storage Guidelines

By following basic storage guidelines, dried beans will stay fresh, tasty, and ready to be cooked into creamy perfection. Of course, you can store Camellia Brand beans right in the iconic cellophane bags they’re packaged in, just be sure to store them in a cool, dry, dark place away from sunlight — like your pantry.

You may notice that some Camellia Brand beanbags have a ‘Best By’ date stamp, but they’re safe to use after that date. In fact, according to foodsafety.gov, dried beans can be consumed within 1-2 years if they’ve been stored in a pantry from the date of purchase, or within 1 year if they’ve been opened and then stored in a pantry. Dried beans are considered ‘non-perishable’ foods, which means they have a long shelf life and can be stored at room temperature.

Tips for Storing Dried Beans in Containers

If you prefer using other types of storage containers such as glass or plastic jars, the key is to make sure they’re food-safe and have tight-sealing lids. In addition, you might want to consider:

• Using containers that hold the typical amount of beans you tend to cook at a time – for example, 1 pound or 2 pounds.
• Labeling your containers with the date you purchased the beans, so that you know how long they’ve been in your pantry.

Beans That Have Been Stored Longer Than A Year

Cooking and eating beans more than a year after purchase is perfectly safe, but they might require a longer cook time to become tender. Adding ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to each pound of beans while cooking can help make them softer.

Storing Cooked Beans in the Freezer

Feeling industrious? Double your favorite red beans & rice recipe, then enjoy with your family, and freeze the rest. You’ll thank yourself at a later date — when you don’t have the time or energy to cook. Another worthy idea is to cook dried beans in large batches, portion 2-cup increments along with some cooking liquid into small storage bags, and freeze. Then, when you need the equivalent of a can of beans for a recipe, just grab them from the freezer instead. Cooked beans in the freezer should last up to six months.

Abita Springs is a quaint village deep in the piney woods of the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, about 45 minutes from New Orleans. Once a spa town where New Orleanians came to escape the summer heat and swim in the many local springs, it retains not only its 19th-century architectural charm but also its old-timey general store, right in the town’s CBB (central business block). With an emphasis on local tradition, Artigue’s Abita Market is a family business that serves the little community’s loyal residents, many of whom live in historic Victorian cottages close enough to walk to the store. Customers also include cyclists passing by on the nearby Tammany Trace bike path and day-trippers from New Orleans who come to check out the town’s attractions, including the quirky UCM Museum and the local Abita Beer microbrewery. 

A Small Town with Big Flavor

In addition to the grocery essentials required in any small Louisiana town, like Cajun spices, T-Rey’s local andouille sausage, spicy boiled peanuts and plenty of red beans, lima beans and blackeye peas, Artigue’s also offers a fresh daily specials menu, brought to life by chef Trey Herty. The menu features a rotation of classic Louisiana hot plates and po-boys plus local family recipes like Mom’s Red Beans and Rice with Pickled Meat, T-Rey’s Smoked Boudin, Louisiana Catfish Meuniere and Artigue’s famous Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo. And not to be missed are the side dishes, from tasty Boudin Balls with Pepper Jelly Dipping Sauce to Stewed Green Baby Limas, Baked Yams and Collard Greens.

Artigue’s Red Bean Secrets Revealed

The menu at Artigue’s evolves along with the seasonal produce that’s locally available, while also staying true to New Orleans traditions such as Red Beans and Rice on Mondays. Sometimes the menu is more Cajun and other times it’s more Creole, but at Artigue’s it’s always Louisiana. So how does Artigue’s do red beans? Chef Trey essentially follows his mom’s recipe and adds in a few “chef hacks” along the way. (His mom, Reba, makes the best red beans he’s ever had.) For seasoning meat he uses products he developed – T-Rey’s Specialty Meats Smoked Sausage and Pickled Meat – which customers can also buy in the store. Chef Trey always browns the sausage in a separate pan and deglazes the pan with vegetables to impart a rich umami flavor to his red beans, and he keeps the spice lineup simple and classic: salt, black pepper and cayenne, with garlic added at several different stages of the cooking process and a couple of dashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce when serving. Can’t get much more Louisiana than that!

LSU Dining Executive Chef Laurence Landon, center, leads a cooking class for students.

When he’s not hilariously demonstrating clever ways for students to create quick meals in his comedic cooking series on YouTube entitled “Hack the Hall,” Executive Chef Laurence Landon has another regularly scheduled performance: managing the entirety of Louisiana State University’s Residential Dining operations. He knows how to stir the beans, as they say: the talent and commitment to quality and sustainability of Chef Laurence and his team have resulted in the 459 Commons Dining Hall’s certification by The Green Restaurant Association as 3-Star Green Restaurant. But on this day we found him in the kitchen, literally stirring the beans in a huge, rectangular vat, in anticipation of a busy lunch.

Beans taste like home.

Akin with many a Louisiana restaurant, The 5, as it’s called on campus, typically serves red beans on Mondays – a comforting taste of home for students from Louisiana. “Most students coming from other states aren’t aware of this tradition,” said Chef Laurence. He added that it doesn’t take long for them to learn just how important beans are in the food culture of the region. Chef Laurence also rotates lots of international bean dishes on the menu, like congri (a Cuban beans-and-rice comfort food), curries, falafel made with red beans or white beans, vegetarian bean burgers, and one of his favorite fusion foods – red beans and rice “egg rolls” – delicious dollops of red beans and rice wrapped in a wonton (like an egg roll) and fried. “Our menu is part down-home Southern and part eclectic international,” he said.

LSU’s Executive Chef of Residential Dining Laurence Landon stirs red beans ahead of a busy lunch at the 459 Commons Dining Hall on the LSU campus.

How do you red bean, Chef Laurence?

Chef Laurence makes his red beans – and all the beans on his menu – vegetarian, in order to be inclusive of vegan and vegetarian students, and serves platters of smoky meats and sausages that can be selected by diners as sides. His recipe is “pretty classic,” as he calls it – bay leaf, salt and pepper, cayenne, seasoning trinity – but he also adds “a bit of dried mustard and green hot sauce.” Chef orders his Camellia Red Kidney beans 25-pound sacks, and soaks them overnight on Sunday in anticipation of Monday’s lunch. Soaking them, he said, “quickens their cooking time and helps them cream faster.”

The Red Beans and Rice is served vegetarian, with meats and sausages as optional sides.

Healthy eating is part of the curriculum

Chef Laurence and his talented chefs and kitchen staff are at the forefront of LSU’s balanced lifestyle and healthy eating initiative, which brings eating into the educational sphere. The idea is that while students are at LSU, they’ll not only be studying academics, but will also be exposed to new foods and new ways of thinking about their eating habits, health and wellness. Fresh, local produce is a priority, nutritional values of foods are posted, and new life has been breathed into the dining menus as well as the university’s approach to student living – all of which provides multiple opportunities for that nutritional powerhouse, the bean, to steal the show.

Chris Belvin, owner of News Restaurant.

In an age of restaurant chains, people will go miles out of their way for an authentic dining experience, and News Restaurant in Meridian, Mississippi, is sure to deliver.  It’s a classic Southern diner, as famous for its musical events and visits from celebrities as it is for its traditional home-cooking. In this restaurant’s long history, everyone from local church ladies in colorful Sunday hats to truckers, blues and country musicians, politicians and movie stars have come to sample their Southern diner fare, freshly baked pie and live music.

“This restaurant is a blessing. It’s a way to help.”

The key to News Restaurant is, it’s all about family, says current owner Chris Belvin as he walks past rows of signed celebrity photos in the restaurant’s dining room – The O’Jays, Sela Ward, The Temptations, Patrick Swayze – and when Belvin, who took over the place’s management after his mom and brother retired, talks about family, he does so in the broadest, finest sense of the word. For him, the whole restaurant is a family, from the owners to the staff to the customers. Says Belvin, “This business takes care of itself, maybe because the way we see it, it’s a blessing, a way to help all the people involved.”

From gas station to diner, without a hitch.

“Uncle Hermon” New started the restaurant as a gas station in 1935, only to find his business in trouble in 1942, when World War II gas-rationing put many small, independently owned service stations in the South and across America out of business. Uncle Hermon’s wife, whom everyone called “Mrs. Hattie Jane,” began serving hamburgers to customers for ten cents apiece to make ends meet, and soon locals and travelers had spread the word that News Service Station was the place to gather and grab a bite while gassing up the car or waiting for a repair to be done. Next came the car hops, serving travelers at their car windows, and by the 1950s, News Service Station had become News Restaurant, employing many friends and family members along the way.

News Restaurant in 1942.

Homemade pie, freshly baked every day.

Ask a dozen regular customers what they love about the food at News Restaurant and you’ll get a dozen different answers, but all can agree that their home-made pies, baked fresh daily, are a favorite dessert that one just doesn’t find too often in restaurants these days. Order a slice à la mode and be taken back to the glory days of the American diner, when fresh-made was the only way.

The menu also pays homage to varied cuisines that have made Mississippi their home over the last two centuries. Alongside Southern classics like field peas with cornbread, candied yams and fried okra or chicken and dumplings you’ll find Mexican hot tamales, Italian sandwiches and pasta dishes, and plenty of Gulf Coast seafood. And in a nod to not-so-far-away New Orleans, customers can order that city’s iconic red beans & rice dish as well as Louisiana Creole specialties like gumbo and étouffée.

The original gas station signage is still visible in the restaurant’s dining room.

The beans are popular, just like the music.

As beans are a beloved ingredient in Southern cooking, Belvin is well acquainted with the Camellia Brand family of beans and peas. Besides red beans & rice, he regularly serves blackeye peas, field peas and white beans, all stewed down to perfection. But great home-cooked food isn’t the only reason to gather at News Restaurant. There’s also the music. Belvin left the music industry to take over the restaurant, and, in a manner of speaking, he brought his friends with him. On one end of the dining room is an erstwhile stage where country and blues bands regularly gig, to the delight of diners. There’s a happy, party atmosphere at News Restaurant, and it doesn’t take long to understand that it’s a direct reflection of Chris Belvin’s love of life, family, food, music and all things creative.

News Restaurant is the winner of the 2020 Camellia Beans Giveaway and recipient of 200 pounds of Camellia Brand Beans, of which Chris Belvin has generously donated 100 pounds to The Care Lodge, a shelter for battered women in Meridian.

A Force in the Deep South and in Appalachian Kitchens

Growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky—and having lived across the Southeast the majority of my life—beans have never been too far from any table where I’ve broken bread. I’ve scarfed down red beans and rice by the spoonful religiously each Monday in New Orleans, soaked butterbeans to serve alongside catfish in Memphis, and helped myself to more than my fair share of lima bean-heavy Brunswick stew along the Georgia coast.

And while beans are an omnipresent force throughout both Deep South and Appalachian kitchens, in the mountains, they often come even more tightly packed with generations of family legacy and lore than just about anywhere else. (Hard to imagine, I know.)

Family Beans

For starters, many devoted seed savers and bean-lovers in the region claim to be able to trace certain varieties of beans back to their own family plots (sometimes, even down to the row in which they were first planted) or their community-at-large. In legendary heirloom-bean-hero Bill Best’s 2013 book, Saving Seeds, Preserving Taste: Heirloom Seeds in Appalachia, Best outlines how these mythical family tales about bean origin reinforce just how crucial beans themselves—not just the dishes they help create—have long been to creating identity across the region.

“[The] tradition of ‘family beans’ marks one of the important ways Appalachian beans have been preserved or developed. A lifetime of experience suggests to me that many, if not most, of such family beans came about by mutant beans, usually called ‘sports,’ showing up in bean patches,” Best writes. “Seeds would be saved from the mutant bean and grown the following summer to see whether they bred true and were tender and tasty. If they were of good eating quality, they became part of that family’s seed stock to be kept, even cherished, and shared with kinfolk and others in the community as well.”

From Preacher Beans to Lazy Daisy Beans

Plus, these localized beans—whether family-based or community-based—have some pretty amazing names. There are tobacco worm beans and lazy daisy beans; turkey craw beans and case knife beans; and there are beans named after their sources: the Grandpa Bishop bean, the preacher bean, the Fox Family bean. But the heirloom bean I most enjoy seeing snaked around my garden trellises each summer are the Lazy Wife greasy beans, which I picked up from Mr. Best when my daughter was only a few weeks old on her first major trip out of the house. (Start them young on becoming a bean-lover, I always say.)

For those outside Appalachia, “greasy beans” might sound, well, a little unappetizing, given that their name connotes a texture that’s more slimy than fresh. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. A string bean that deliver a nutty and protein-packed crunch, greasy beans are a deeply-rooted Appalachian tradition whether eaten fresh in the summer or preserved as “shuck beans.”

Preserving and Drying Beans

“’Leather britches’ or ‘shuck beans’ refers to the method of preserving certain types of green beans by drying them in their pods. Rehydrated and cooked, the skins take on the texture of silk and nearly dissolve on the tongue, while the beans are tender, rich, and velvety,” writes James Beard Award-winning author Ronni Lundy for Smoky Mountain Living Magazine. “Beans were preserved this way to provide much-needed protein through the long mountain winters…[and] mountain people universally embraced the dish…long past the need for preserving every morsel from the garden to get through the winter. Many folks like to do it the old way with the ristra-like strings of beans hung on an enclosed porch, in the attic, or in an out-of-the-way corner. You can also dry beans the way many do apples, by spreading them on a large screen or sheet strung taut between sawhorses.”

A Source of Meals Through Long Appalachian Winters

This focus on beans as a source of hardy, filling and energy-providing meals through the long Appalachian winters when the (already limited) growing conditions completely dry up is a hallmark of the region’s embrace of beans, and sets it apart from its—much warmer, less cold-weather-challenged—neighbors to the South. Which brings us to what is perhaps the central legume-based dish of Appalachian cuisine: soup beans.

Soup Beans

No, not bean soup (never call it bean soup!), but soup beans: a pinto bean-based dish where the broth (or potlikker) becomes so rich and slurpable, the “soup” and the “bean” deserve equal billing in the dish’s name, like in this recipe. Made by cooking down dried pintos with a salty, rich hunk of ham-hock or fat-back and maybe a little bit of onion (if you’re feeling fancy), this culinary staple of the region is delicious, affordable and always served with a side of fresh cornbread for sopping up any leftover broth. Its deep simplicity and accessibility means you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone from the foothills of Eastern Kentucky to the hamlets of West Virginia who doesn’t have a spin on the dish passed down through their family, and after your first bite, you’ll be more than happy to snack on a big pot of leftover soup beans for days. (Much like a good chili, many people swear it gets better as it rests.)

Exploring the diversity and richness of America’s bean heritage is a journey not only in delicious history, but in gaining a deeper understanding about the people who are guardians of tradition for their families and communities. And whether you’re plating up the white beans and rice you first devoured in South Louisiana or stringing up a row of Appalachian shuck beans, these meals can deepen our sense of connection to both place and one another.

Written by Sarah Baird, a writer and editor based in New Orleans. An award-winning former restaurant critic for the city’s alt-weekly and seasoned tippling enthusiast, her work appears regularly in print and online for Lucky Peach, Food52, AFAR, Pacific Standard, Saveur, The Atlantic, Eater, The Village Voice, PUNCH, The Guardian, GOOD, Liquor.com and beyond. 

Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans. Photo excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

Authentic Cajun cooking in Uptown New Orleans

The Cajun cuisine of Louisiana is many things. The central Louisiana “Cajun prairie” area is known for its boudin (a spicy sausage typically containing ground pork, rice, onion, parsley, green peppers, and plenty of Cajun spices) and smoked meats, among other inland delicacies.

Coastal South Louisiana Cajun communities, however, are known for their seafood – briny oysters, fat jumbo shrimp, tender soft-shell crab, flavorful redfish. But according to New Orleans chef and restaurateur Melissa Martin’s experience (she grew up in a South Louisiana fishing village) those seafood delights weren’t typically the main course in coastal Cajun homes – they were more like sides, albeit spectacular ones. The main course was, more often than not, a large plate of beans and rice seasoned with salt pork. And lucky for us, just such a plate of Cajun beans and rice is often featured on the menu at Mosquito Supper Club, Martin’s cosy, family-style New Orleans restaurant.

Chasing a flavor…

Housed in a charming, circa 1898 Victorian house on Dryades Street in the Milan neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Mosquito Supper Club is a casual, homespun showcase for the exquisite coastal Cajun cooking that Martin learned “by osmosis” from the elder women in her family. Says Martin in her beautifully photographed book of coastal Cajun recipes entitled Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes From A Disappearing Bayou, “I was inspired by the food that I grew up eating in the tiny fishing village of Chauvin, Louisiana. Women cooked the food and recipes and techniques were passed down as if through an apprenticeship; by watching, learning and doing, and by chasing a flavor. I wanted to share that food with anyone who wanted to take a seat at our tables.” As for chasing a flavor, she explains, “When you have memories from your childhood, of certain tastes and smells, and you try it out and adjust it until it matches your memory and gives you the feeling that those memories bring, and you know it’s right – that’s chasing a flavor.”

Mosquito Supper Club White Beans & Rice. Recipe and photo are excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

White beans the Cajun way

The menu changes daily at Mosquito Supper Club, and it’s always memorable. Guests are seated family style (right next to strangers who soon become friends), at long tables of handcrafted reclaimed wood, as Martin and her staff bring out wine, fresh-baked biscuits, and platters and bowls of authentic coastal Cajun food made with incredibly fresh seafood, meat and produce. Expect to dive into lots of delicious, with menu items like duck gumbo, oyster bisque, crab claws marinated in cane vinegar, fried soft-shell crabs, shrimp jambalaya, stuffed crawfish heads, and, of course, Martin’s Mosquito Supper Club White Beans. Martin uses Camellia Navy Beans and seasons them “the way Cajuns do” with salt pork and both black and cayenne pepper. Martin graciously shares her family’s Monday Red Beans & Rice recipe, too, although it’s not featured on her restaurant’s menu.

“My mother swore by Camellia Beans”

“White beans, red beans, lima beans – beans are a staple in the Cajun pantry,” says Martin. And she adds, “My mother swore by Camellia beans.” From her mother, Martin learned how to measure the quality of a pack of dried beans: “She taught me that when you go to soak beans, if they’re fresh they will wrinkle quickly.”

Prepping for a busy shift at Mosquito Supper Club. Photo is excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

Five-plus courses of authentic Cajun delicious

Mosquito Supper Club offers a five (or more) course meal plus wine and cocktails for dinner several nights a week, plus a Sunday brunch with the added delight of extra baked goods, brunch menu items such as raw oysters and eggs topped with caviar, and being able to bask in the warm sunlight that filters into the charming, slightly rustic dining area of this 19th century former residence. While the menus change, one thing remains the same: each dish is prepared thoughtfully, with the best and freshest ingredients, inspired by generations of home cooking in the coastal fishing villages of South Louisiana.

Salt pork, ready to season a pot of Cajun-style beans. Photo is excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

The Competition

Now that Mardi Gras is over, our Red Beans Parade friends have organized their next bean-loving event – an awesome Bean Madness tournament. In this take-off on the annual college basketball March Madness event, 32 restaurants and individual chefs will compete to see who makes the best red beans & rice in New Orleans. Ian McNulty of the New Orleans Advocate has described this event as a “uniquely interactive way to celebrate the humble but vital dish around town, drawing directly on the tastes and preferences of New Orleans people.” And we couldn’t agree more.

For a Good Cause

Running March 1-April 6, 2020, this single-elimination tournament will raise money for multiple nonprofits including Anna’s Place NOLA, which offers after-school and summer camp programs as well as health outreach and a food pantry; Make Music NOLA, a free music-for-social-change program; Electric Girls, which helps girls to develop and strengthen skills in science, technology, engineering and math; Market Umbrella, which assists farmers’ markets and promotes fresh food access in New Orleans; the Southern Rep Theater, which showcases original theatrical voices and performances reflecting Southern heritage; and SoulNOLA, which plants much-needed trees across urban New Orleans. Here at Camellia, we’re thrilled to sponsor the competition.

Donate, Make Predictions & Win!

How can you get in on the action? Donate and make your predictions here. Your donation will go to the non-profits. You also have the ability to sign up to play and create a bracket online. View your bracket anytime, and follow along in the leaderboard section for updates!

The winner of the bracket will receive lots of silly prizes from the Krewe of Red Beans and Camellia Beans.

Taste-Test Schedule

The tournament features pop-up blind-taste tests around New Orleans that’ll take place at corner bars, bookstores, groceries and markets. Here’s the full lineup of tastings, so you can see who’s competing where and when. The experts on the matter – the people of New Orleans – will judge the red beans and ultimately crown a champion.

The “Final Fork”, with the final four competitors, will be held April 4 from 5-8 p.m. at Zony Mash Beer Project and the championship party and silent auction will take place April 6 from 6-9 p.m. at Capulet Bywater.

Gather ’round with Pableaux Johnson (New Orleans food writer, photographer and one of Epicurious’ recent Top 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time) at his next stop in Houston, Texas. His Red Beans Road Show will be staging a Monday-night takeover on January 27, 2020, when Brennan’s chef Joe Cervantez and host Alex Brennan-Martin and their crew will open Brennan’s of Houston for a night of food, friends and fun.

This family style throw-down will feature a chef-created appetizer, Pableaux’s famous red beans & rice with cornbread, and something sweet – plus maybe a surprise or two. Pableaux always keeps it interesting!

Order tickets online while they last, and come break cornbread and make memories with friends and strangers alike.

Photo courtesy of Brennan’s of Houston

Hungry for more details? Here’s everything else you need to know about the Red Beans Road Show:

Good, Simple Food & New Friends

Louisiana food writer, photographer and “general n’er-do-well” Pableaux Johnson meets up with local restaurant chefs in each town or city he visits, to host an informal, family-style feast featuring “good, simple food, camaraderie and appropriate misbehavior.” 

Pableaux Is a Hoot!

Buy your tickets and show up to eat, drink and shoot the breeze with culinary and culture enthusiasts. As ringleader and organizer of the shenanigans, Pableaux gives a short presentation on Louisiana foodways that will leave you hankering for all things Louisiana, and then it’s a fun night of breaking bread (Pableaux’s grandpa’s skillet cornbread, that is), eating down-home, delicious food and drinking a cold beer with a roomful of friendly strangers. 

Local Chefs Are in on It

Pableaux cooks his signature Red Beans & Rice made with Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, and his local chef partners serve up a simple starter (like deviled eggs or hand pies) and a dessert (like bread pudding or homemade pie). 

Take the Tradition Home with You

Everyone who attends gets a bag of Camellia Red Kidney Beans and a recipe card to make Red Beans & Rice, so you can start your own tradition at home!

Everyone who attends gets a bag of Camellia Red Kidney Beans and a recipe card for Red Beans & Rice, so they can start their own tradition at home!

Photo courtesy of Philip M. Denman

Clarence “Buster” Holmes: “I’m Not a Chef. I’m a Cook.”

If you are a New Orleanian of a certain age, you might have heard of Buster Holmes’ restaurant and bar, which opened at its Burgundy Street location in the French Quarter in 1960, during the Civil Rights era. It was a unique and important communal dining spot for people of all races, classes, and origins – a place where wealthy businessmen and lawyers, university professors and jazz musicians sat cheek to jowl with college kids, dock workers, cabbies and hotel chambermaids, all united in hunger for Holmes’ renowned home cooking. (In 1960, you could get a big plate of red beans at Buster’s for 16 cents!) Modest to a fault and friendly to everyone, Buster refused to call himself a chef, priding himself on serving everyday home-cooking that happened to be about the best there was anywhere.

King of Red Beans

Hailed as the undisputed “King of Red Beans,” the Plaquemines Parish native downplayed the unique nature of his signature dish. “My red beans are really nothing different,” he said in 1981. “But they are cooked right. I put in all the seasonings – onions, garlic, bell pepper – at once and let the whole thing cook down. In terms of spice, Buster wielded a light touch, preferring to let his diners season their beans to their own tastes.

Jazz Was Always on the Menu

Holmes’ restaurant was an informal clubhouse for musicians and served as a magnet for second-line parades and jam sessions and as a place to hustle gigs and relax after performances. Regulars included jazz legends such as Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, George “Kid Sheik” Cola, Alcide “Slow Drag” Pavageau, Matthew “Fats” Houston and Harold Dejan, to mention just a few. In 1970, Buster sold his red beans from a truck at the very first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, prompting a New York Times review of his restaurant that set mouths watering worldwide for a taste of Holmes’ soulful cooking. After that, you were likely to run into tourists and celebrities at Buster’s place, too, including Woody Allen, Vincent Price and too many rock ‘n rollers to count. 

Returning the Favor

Holmes also made room for the poor and homeless of all ages, often giving away food or selling it at cut-rate prices. “ ’Course I feed ’em when they come in here and tell me they’re hungry,” Holmes told The Times-Picayune in 1979. “God’s been good to me, and I’m just returnin’ the favor.” As musician, author and journalist Tom Sancton, author of the memoir Song for My Fathers, recalled, “Buster was someone that welcomed everyone. He brought together people of all walks of life … through music and food.”

See Buster’s Famous Red Beans and Rice Recipe

Keeping it Old School

Red beans weren’t the only home-cooking on Buster’s menu. He served garlic chicken, pork backbone with turnips, shrimp creole, trout amandine, crab soup, oyster stew, shrimp & okra gumbo and many more classic New Orleans dishes – most of which can be found in the iconic Buster Holmes Restaurant Cookbook, first published in 1980 and featuring a forward by New Orleans food writer and historian Poppy Tooker.

Holmes’ family was from the country, and he grew up hunting and cooking wild game (they’d been driven from their home in the swampy town of Ironton to New Orleans, displaced by the infamous 1927 Mississippi River flood), and his country roots are well represented in his cookbook, which features recipes for possum, dove, raccoon baked with sweet potatoes, broiled squirrel, nutria sauce piquante and garfish balls. Buster Holmes passed away in 1994 – on a Monday, the traditional day to serve red beans and rice – but he lives on in the red beans lore of New Orleans.

The King of Red Beans in the Red Bean Hall of Fame

Buster Holmes also has a place of honor in the Camellia Red Bean Hall of Fame exhibit at New Orleans’ own Southern Food & Beverage Museum.

Red Beans Roadshow Atlanta Popup Supper

Gather ’round! Food writer and natural-born cook Pableaux Johnson’s Red Beans Road Show is now heading to the Garden & Gun Club at The Battery Atlanta, for a one-night-only Pop-up Supper on October 20, 2019. Host chef Ann Kim, the executive chef of the Garden & Gun Club, will be collaborating with Pableaux to create this family-style feast. Tickets are going fast! Order them online and come to break cornbread and make memories with friends and strangers alike.

Plus, it’s for a good cause! Following the event, Camellia Brand will be donating Camellia Red Kidney Beans and a portion of event proceeds to Georgia Organics, an organization championing organic agriculture and helping schools engage children in delicious and educational farm-to-table experiences.

“When you sit around Johnson’s table… you’re not supposed to fiddle with your phone. You talk. You meet people. You drink. You eat. You remember what it’s like to connect with strangers over a meal.” –  The Washington Post

Oct. 20  – Garden & Gun Club in The Battery, Atlanta, GA     

On October 20, 2019, Pableaux will prepare Louisiana’s traditional Monday-night meal of Red Beans and Rice using Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans…but on a Sunday. Host chef Ann Kim of the Garden & Gun Club will be collaborating with Pablo to create this one-night-only, New Orleans-style gastronomic gathering. The family-style feast begins at 6:30 p.m., with a sit-down, three-course supper beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for the Red Beans Roadshow at the Garden & Gun Club are available for $55+ per person, and include a home-style, three-course meal, featuring Chef Kim’s choice of appetizer, Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread, a dessert created by Chef Kim, and maybe a surprise or two. Wine and beer options are available at an additional cost. Vegan and vegetarian options are also available, upon request. Seating is limited. Purchase tickets in advance online.

Hungry for more details? Here’s everything else you need to know about the Red Beans Road Show:

Good, Simple Food & New Friends

Louisiana food writer, photographer and “general n’er-do-well” Pableaux Johnson meets up with local restaurant chefs in each town or city he visits, to host an informal, family-style feast featuring “good, simple food, camaraderie and appropriate misbehavior.” 

Pableaux Is a Hoot!

Buy your tickets and show up to eat, drink and shoot the breeze with culinary and culture enthusiasts. As ringleader and organizer of the shenanigans, Pableaux gives a short presentation on Louisiana foodways that will leave you hankering for all things Louisiana, and then it’s a fun night of breaking bread (Pableaux’s grandpa’s skillet cornbread, that is), eating down-home, delicious food and drinking a cold beer with a roomful of friendly strangers. 

Local Chefs Are in on It

Pableaux cooks his signature Red Beans & Rice made with Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, and his local chef partners serve up a simple starter (like deviled eggs or hand pies) and a dessert (like bread pudding or homemade pie). 

Take the Tradition Home with You

Everyone who attends gets a bag of Camellia Red Kidney Beans and a recipe card to make Red Beans & Rice, so you can start your own tradition at home!

Everyone who attends gets a bag of Camellia Red Kidney Beans and a recipe card for Red Beans & Rice, so they can start their own tradition at home!

Zingerman’s Brings the Fun and Flavor of Camellia Beans to Ann Arbor

Camellia Beans are in the house! Zingerman’s Roadhouse, that is – and this is great news for mid-western foodies and anyone else who loves a delicious bowl of beans. The Roadhouse is known for seeking out great American food traditions and serving them up the old-fashioned way with authentic, carefully sourced ingredients and strong ties to their local community. It’s part of a friendly, loosely connected empire of businesses in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area that is presided over by co-founders Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, who started their first business (a delicatessen) in 1982 with just two goals: to make a great corned beef sandwich and to have a business with soul. Since then, they’ve been recognized for excellence by the likes of Bon Appetit magazine and the James Beard Foundation and have become internationally known for their business model. However, they still find time to serve up extra helpings of fun – and yes, plenty of soul – with every item on their menus.

Traditional Food With Soul

Walk into Zingerman’s Roadhouse (or any Zingerman’s business) and you get the feeling that the making-money part is just a means to the true goal: to gather people together in celebration of American culture and delicious, heart-warming food traditions. You’ll meet people who know everything about the foods they make and serve, who’ll want to explain it all to you, and who genuinely seem to enjoy their jobs. There’s the original deli and mail order business, the Roadhouse restaurant, a full-service bakery, a creamery producing fine cheeses and gelato, a coffee company, a wedding cake company, a candy manufacturer, a farm, event venues, a cooking school, a worldwide food tour company, and even a business training program.  And with all of this focus on quality and authenticity, the South’s beloved Camellia brand Beans are a perfect fit. They’ll be found in a few dishes (using Camellia red kidney, pinto and black beans), including New Orleans–style red beans & rice, ancho beef chile and refried beans. Says Ari: “Those world-class Camellia red beans, simmered with a mess of smoked pork and spices, are super terrific! In a bit of a take-off on the British baked beans on toast, we’ve also been serving the red beans on toast too. Tremendously good!” 

“No joke – you really can taste the difference”

Ari was introduced to to the superior flavor of Camellia Brand Beans by Chef Alon Shaya (of restaurants Saba in New Orleans and Safta in Denver). Says Ari, “I’m not sure what took us so long… Of course, all that’s happened is that we’ve finally figured out what nearly everyone in New Orleans has known for ages. Camellia beans bring killer quality to the kitchen! No joke – you really can taste the difference. Camellia beans clearly taste better and have a creamier texture.” 

About That Side of “Anarchy”…

Ari studied Russian history in college, focusing on the anarchists, and while he’s a self-proclaimed “lapsed anarchist,” he does like to shake up traditional business structures in order to promote entrepreneurial vigor, creativity and job satisfaction. His idea of anarchy is to run a business as a healthy, egalitarian community with plenty of room for critical thinking and questioning of rules and systems. And, it seems he’s on to something: the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses is now famous for its loose, “organic ecosystem” business structure, and Ari regularly coaches eager students of the system (which has been featured in Forbes and Fortune magazines) as yet another component of the many Zingerman’s offerings. Inc.com recently named Ari among the Top 10 CEOs In The World (Ari is #2), citing Zingerman’s unusual corporate structure and featuring Ari’s favorite quote: “Beliefs underlie every single thing we do, both individually and organizationally. Beliefs are like the root system of our lives. In my metaphor, I started to look at organizational culture as the soil. Clearly the quality of the soil will have a huge impact on what’s planted – new ideas or new people – in the organization.” As it is for business, so it is for beans…

CEO Ari Weinzweig chats with his customers.

Coming Around to the Hayward Standard

When he’s not encouraging “foodpreneurship” at home, Ari is traveling America and the world in search of traditional, high-quality foods to bring back to food-loving Zingerman’s customers. He leaves no stone – and no bean – unturned in his search for the best. Upon discovering and tasting Camellia Brand Beans, he shared an epiphany of sorts on the subject of bean quality: “Can there be that much difference in a bean? The simple answer is ‘absolutely.’ And why not? Beans are just as much an agricultural product as any other produce that comes out of the ground. And you wouldn’t even flinch if I told you that one variety of tomato was more flavorful than another… the same is true for beans.” American bean farmers, of course, have known this for generations: the Hayward family, owners of Camellia Beans since 1923, demanded such high quality beans that their suppliers added a grade above the highest grade on the USDA’s bean quality scale to use as a standard for setting aside their best beans for Camellia. To this day it’s still called the Hayward Standard.  

Get a Taste of Food with Soul

So stop by Zingerman’s Roadhouse if you are in the Ann Arbor area to get a taste of some really good American food with soul – with an extra helping of red beans and rice.

No event exemplifies the Camellia Brand motto of “Gather ‘Round” better than food-writer and natural-born cook Pableaux Johnson’s Red Beans Road Show Pop-up Suppers, now heading to Reusing’s in Durham, NC, on Sept. 6, and to Alewife in Richmond, VA, on Sept. 8. Get your tickets to come break cornbread and make memories with friends and strangers alike. Plus, it’s for a good cause! For each event, the Road Show donates to a local cause of the chef’s choice.

“When you sit around Johnson’s table… you’re not supposed to fiddle with your phone. You talk. You meet people. You drink. You eat. You remember what it’s like to connect with strangers over a meal.” –  The Washington Post

Sept. 6  – Reusing’s at The Durham Hotel, Durham, NC   

On September 6, 2019, Pableaux Johnson will partner with local Chef Andrea Reusing for a one-night-only, New Orleans-style gastronomic gathering at Reusing’s in The Durham. The family-style feast commences at 6:30 p.m., with the sit-down, 3-course feast beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for the Red Beans Roadshow at Reusing’s are available for $55++ per person, and include a home-style, three-course meal, featuring Chef Andrea’s choice of an appetizer followed by Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread, Chef Andrea’s dessert and maybe a surprise or two. Wine and beer are included. Vegan and vegetarian options are available, upon request. Seating is limited. 

Sept. 8  – Alewife, Richmond, VA  

On September 8, 2019, Pableaux Johnson will partner with local Chef Lee Gregory for a one-night-only, New Orleans-style gastronomic gathering at Alewife in Richmond. The family-style feast commences at 6:30 p.m., with the sit-down, 3-course feast beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for the Red Beans Roadshow at Alewife are available for $55++ per person, and include a home-style, three-course meal, featuring Chef Lee’s choice of appetizer followed by Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread, Chef Lee’s dessert and maybe a surprise or two. Wine and beer are included. Vegan and vegetarian options are available, upon request. Seating is limited. 

Hungry for more details? Here’s everything else you need to know about the Red Beans Road Show:

Good, Simple Food & New Friends

Louisiana food writer, photographer and “general n’er-do-well” Pableaux Johnson meets up with local restaurant chefs in each town or city he visits, to host an informal, family-style feast featuring “good, simple food, camaraderie and appropriate misbehavior.” 

Pableaux Is a Hoot!

Buy your tickets and show up to eat, drink and shoot the breeze with culinary and culture enthusiasts. As ringleader and organizer of the shenanigans, Pableaux gives a short presentation on Louisiana foodways that will leave you hankering for all things Louisiana, and then it’s a fun night of breaking bread (Pableaux’s grandpa’s skillet cornbread, that is), eating down-home, delicious food and drinking a cold beer with a roomful of friendly strangers. 

Local Chefs Are in on It

Pableaux cooks his signature Red Beans & Rice made with Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, and his local chef partners serve up a simple starter (like deviled eggs or hand pies) and a dessert (like bread pudding or homemade pie). 

Take the Tradition Home with You

Everyone who attends gets a bag of Camellia Red Kidney Beans and a recipe card to make Red Beans & Rice, so you can start their own tradition at home!

Everyone who attends gets a bag of Camellia Red Kidney Beans and a recipe card for Red Beans & Rice, so they can start their own tradition at home!

Building a Red Beans Community

For most people, the thought of planning, organizing and hosting a dinner party for dozens of people each week is enough to make them break out in a cold sweat. Between the grocery shopping (in bulk!), sending invitations, cooking the meal itself and—of course—kitchen cleanup, it’s a serious labor of love to invite others into your home to share a homemade meal.

But for Emily Shaya, Director of New Projects for Pomegranate Hospitality, that’s just a typical Monday night.

“After I went to business school [at Tulane], I moved to Atlanta…but I really missed New Orleans. So, when I got back [to the city], I vowed to start a New Orleans tradition that was new to me: making red beans on Mondays. It was a way to invite people over and catch up with friends on a consistent basis,” explained Shaya. “It just became a tradition where I would send out an email and invite basically the same 10 or 12 people over every week. At first, I would get three or four people to come, because people didn’t want to leave their house on a Monday. But now each week, what we call “small beans” is around eight people, and then big [beans] means like, 26 people, show up.”

And Shaya’s version of Monday night red beans means that adding another seat at the table is never a problem: the more, the merrier.

“If we have a bunch of people in town, or lots of people have friends in town who are visiting, they are always welcome to bring friends and family. We’ve celebrated people’s birthdays and anniversaries—all that kind of stuff—at our beans.”

Go Big, Go Home (or Do Both!)

But this year, Shaya is scaling her batch of beans up—way up—by taking her version of the dish public as a competitor in the 2019 Bean Madness competition. A double-blind, single elimination, bracket-style event modeled after March Madness and organized by the Krewe of Red Beans, the tournament pits 32 restaurants and teams against each other in the “Road to the Final Fork.”

Before the competition, Shaya expressed her anticipation. “I’m excited to have a lot of people— different people—taste them. I’ve done a few events. We did a fundraiser for the Crescent City Farmer’s Market, where we had about 100 people come and try the beans, and people liked them there. So, we’ll see how the City of New Orleans likes them.”

Shaya, who won the competition and took home the coveted “Legume d’Or”, was one of the few home cooks going head-to-head with restaurants from across the city in Bean Madness this year. That meant learning a lot of tricks, like large-scale batching, on the fly.

Shaya’s Secret? Bean-ing Together!

Shaya shared a look into her process. “This is my first red bean competition—or any kind of food competition! I’ve been working on my recipe, because it’s a large amount. It’s two gallons or three gallons per tasting, so I’m making sure I get my quantities right and things like that,” Shaya laughed. “For beans, I think that one thing you can slip up on is putting them in too large of a pot. I say, ‘They like to beantogether!’ And my husband [Chef Alon Shaya] always laughs at me, but when you cook them in a really large pot and there’s a lot of extra space, they don’t get as creamy for some reason. If it’s a smaller pot, they get creamier over time. I think it’s just because they bounce off of each other a lot more.”

And for anyone who talks to Shaya, it’s no surprise that she’s a fan of keeping things close together, whether it’s the beans in her pot or the friends and family around her red beans table on Monday night.

“I think the red beans tradition in New Orleans is really amazing because people who live here grew up eating beans at least once a week—always on Mondays. In their school, they grew up doing it, and then I know a lot of my friends, in their work cafeterias, they have red beans every Monday. I don’t know if there’s any other place where people eat the same food, every week, in the same way.”

Get Emily Shaya’s famous Red Beans & Rice recipe.

Lima Bean Lore

We pronounce “lima” beans like this: “lime” with an “a” on the end. But if we were to call them not by custom but with historical accuracy, they’d be  pronounced “LEEma” beans, as in Lima, the capital city of Peru. That is where these New World native beans came from. But these luscious legumes – creamy off-white, flattened ovals, a cupid’s bow dipping in where they were once attached to the pod – have made themselves at home all over the Americas, and especially so in the South. And why not? While the smaller version is adorably known as “butterbeans,” the larger limas are every bit as loveable, and, if prepared right, buttery, with their lush creamy goodness encased and embraced by a firmer, shape-holding skin.

Here are a handful of my favorite ways to prepare this amiable bean.

Brunswick Stew

“Brunswick stew,” noted the humorist Roy Blount, Jr., “is what happens when small mammals carrying ears of corn fall into barbecue pits.” Well, not quite, but back in the day when all manner of small wild game, including squirrel and rabbit, made its way into this savory lima bean and corn stew, it might have been logical to make this supposition. This Brunswick Stew may be tamer – it calls for chicken and ham, not game – but it still has plenty of pizzazz. The vegetables (potatoes, onion and okra partner with the limas and corn) and chicken are cooked in a brothy, slightly smoky tomato-based sauce, and given a double kick with hot sauce and BBQ sauce. Both Brunswick, Georgia, and Brunswick County, in southern Virginia, claim the stew’s origins, but heck, given that one of the main ingredients came all the way from Peru, who really cares? I will say that my mother, who made this version periodically when I was growing up, was a Virginia native.

Ruth’s Southern Country-Style Butter Bean & Green Bean Soup with Potatoes

From another part of the South, the Ozarks of Arkansas, comes another iteration of lima bean love. Ruth Eichor, born and raised in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, taught me the magic of this very simple preparation – a creamy, soulful soup combining limas, potatoes and green beans. Once again, bacon lends smokiness, but instead of tomato acidity, you have the unctuousness of dairy. Ruth always used evaporated milk, but if you feel inclined toward a richer soup, use half-and-half. And for convenience, you can turn this soup into an easy weeknight meal by making it in the slow cooker. All you’ll need to add alongside it is hot, crusty bread or cornbread and a fresh green salad.

Ragout of Shiitake Mushrooms, Butter Beans & Southern Greens

Here, over a welcoming bed of voluptuous, cheese-enriched grits, is a contemporary ragout combining some of the best-loved favorites of Southern cooking — grits, greens and butter beans. Shiitake mushrooms, sautéed with onion and garlic, meet up with plump, cooked-till-tender limas and a slightly boisterous tangle of blanched hearty greens, sauced with a bit of tomato. Top this with shaved Parmesan for serious goodness. A bit less down-home than the first two offerings, it’s a delectable vegetarian dish, both old-fashioned and up-to-the-minute, homey and beautiful all at the same time — worthy of a weekend brunch or even a light dinner. If you don’t have limas on hand, it can be easily made with blackeye peas or navy beans.

Crescent Dragonwagon has sometimes been referred to as the “queen of bean cuisine.”  The recipes noted above are featured in Bean by Bean, a cookbook from Workman Publishing that’s a cornucopia of more than 175 bean recipes – soups, salads, chilis, stews, casseroles, curries, hashes, side-dishes, mains, go-withs and desserts. 

Preserving Farm Heritage in Louisiana

For nearly four decades, Coykendall’s passion has been preserving the farm heritage — the seeds and stories — of a small, farming community in Louisiana. A Tennessee native, the 74-year-old horticultural genius is a true Renaissance man and a celebrity in a growing movement that places a premium on farm-to-table cuisine and locally sourced, organic, heirloom food and flavor.

Master Gardener & Seed Saver

Coykendall is a classically trained artist, who studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and for 20 years, he has been the Master Gardner at Blackberry Farm, one of America’s most celebrated destination resorts. In his role at Blackberry Farm, Coykendall cultivates the property’s seven acres of farm land that supply the resort’s award winning restaurants with fresh from the ground, heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. His work also takes him around the world, searching for seeds and beans and the cultural knowledge of how to grow them.

An Annual Pilgrimage that Became a Treasure Trove

What has inspired Coykendall most is his annual pilgrimage to a small Louisiana community he stumbled upon 40 years ago. Drawn to the Washington Parish area as a college student in 1973, John forged relationships with local farmers and gardeners in the community, where over the decades he has recorded the oral histories and cultural wisdom of farmers and gardeners. Housed in more than 80 beautifully illustrated journals are saved and safeguarded rare varieties of the crops they once grew. Now, the Emmy nominated documentary Deeply Rooted produced by Christina Melton, tells the story of John Coykendall’s journey to save our seeds and stories.

Watch Deeply Rooted, Proudly Sponsored by Camellia

Read Debbie Elliott’s NPR story about John’s work and the Deeply Rooted documentary, watch a preview, and below, hear from Camellia Brand CEO Vince Hayward about our support of John’s efforts to save these culinary and farming traditions.

Since 1923, Camellia brand beans has been deeply rooted in southern dining traditions that bring people together. Our New Orleans-based, family-owned company is proud to support efforts to preserve our culinary heritage through this program and Louisiana Public Broadcasting. The film is currently being nationally distributed and broadcast through American Public Television.

Pictured from L to R: Producer Christina Melton, John Coykendall, Chef Kevin Belton, Vince Hayward (CEO of Camellia Brand), Allison Hayward, Adrienne Ehrensing.

Camellia Red Beans + Whole Grain Rice + Crystal Hot Sauce = Great Chips
Made with Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, Whole Grain Rice and a dash of Crystal® Hot Sauce, these chips offer a naturally N’Awlins flavor combo and of course, another great way for red beans & rice lovers to get their fix.

Bean Powered Chips — More Flavor, Protein and Fiber
Hola Nola’s Red Bean and Rice Tortilla Chips feature a higher level of protein and fiber than standard chips — even more reasons to love ’em! Perfect with dips, in nachos, or right outta the bag, they’re everything our fans could want in a tortilla chip.

Where to Buy
Get your hands on them at any Rouses Markets in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Hola Nola & Camellia
“We wanted to marry the growing interest in traditional Mexican ingredients with a classic local dish. Everyone loves Red Beans and Rice made with Camellia Beans because they’re the most flavorful, and Crystal Hot Sauce adds just the right heat,” noted Kevin S. Holden, Founder of Hola Nola Foods — Louisiana’s only tortilla and tortilla chip producer.

“We love the artisan quality of Hola Nola® foods. And of course, we’re thrilled that New Orleans’ most soulful dish is recognized through these delicious Red Bean and Rice Tortilla Chips,” Vince Hayward said, CEO and 4th generation family owner of Camellia Brand Beans.

Start Dipping
Get Hola Nola’s Red Bean and Rice Tortilla Chips today, and start dipping with these great party dips:

Fresh Two-Bean Salsa

Cowboy Caviar

Hot 7-Layer Dip with Andouille & Bacon

Umami — also known as savory taste — is one of the five basic tastes, together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty, and is often described as brothy or meaty. Traditional seasoning meats such as salt pork, bacon, and ham are what provide that savory, meaty flavor in a pot of simmering beans. But the truth is, you can get creamy beans with deep, savory umami flavor in a meatless way — by using vegetarian ingredients, and spices or seasonings that provide that savory flavor. We’ll explore a few here; see which ones work for you and your taste buds.

Dried Mushrooms & Mushroom Broth

One of the best ways to get that deep, rich flavor is by using dried porcini mushrooms. They offer up a great umami kick, meaty richness and an earthy note. The trick to wonderfully flavored vegetarian beans is this: steep the dried mushrooms in boiling water to make a broth, and then simmer beans in the mushroom broth (as all or part of the recipe’s cooking liquid). After soaking them, chop the mushrooms and add to the beans, as well. The savory flavor seeps into the beans, and the chopped mushrooms add great texture. While it can be difficult to find dried mushrooms at the grocery store, they’re usually found alongside other specialty spices and seasonings. And if you can’t find porcinis, a mix of different kinds of dried mushrooms will do the job (look for cremini, shiitake or oyster). Want the flavor, but don’t like the texture? Simply ground dried mushrooms into a powder and dissolve the powder into your pot of beans. Try this delicious Vegetarian Lima Beans dish that uses dried mushrooms and mushroom broth for amazing flavor.

Shallots

Shallots are another must for cooking flavorful vegetarian beans. Known and enjoyed for their mild flavor, shallots are often thought of as a perfect union of onion and garlic. Although they have many similarities to onion and garlic, their flavor is sweeter and more delicate, with less bite. Typically round or teardrop-shaped, they come in shades of pink and purple and when chopped and cooked, offer a deep flavor that adds complexity to just about any dish, especially a pot of vegetarian beans. Use them in place of or in addition to onions in your favorite bean dish. You’ll love the end result.

Soy Sauce

Soy sauce, a brewed liquid made from soybeans, wheat, water and salt, is one of those interesting condiments that can be used for more than you might think. Soy sauce actually accentuates the umami flavor of mushrooms, which is why if you’re going the route of using dried mushrooms in your vegetarian beans, you can punch up the flavor even more with a hint of soy sauce. Just be sure to add it to your simmering beans before you add salt  — that way you won’t end up with beans that are too salty. You’ll find soy sauce as a secret ingredient in these Vegetarian Lima Beans.

Smoked Paprika

Smoked paprika is the Spanish version of sweet paprika, and it’s made from pimiento peppers that are dried, smoked over an oak fire, and then ground into a fine powder. It features a deep red color and a smoky aroma. In fact, that’s the reason most people use it — for its deep, smoky quality. Even a small amount can add great smoky flavor to any dish, and it’s a good option for those who want that in their vegetarian beans. You’ll find smoked paprika in these delicious vegetarian bean dishes: Slow Cooker Lentil & Black Bean Taco Soup, New Orleans-Style Vegan Red Beans & Rice, Slow Cooker 3-Bean Vegetarian Chili, Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus and Black Bean Hummus.

Worcestershire Sauce

Worcestershire Sauce is a fermented liquid condiment that’s complex and unique in its umami flavor and aroma. Traditional versions do contain anchovies (which is a fish), as well as tamarind, molasses, onions, vinegar, cloves and sugar, and are often used in meat marinades and bloody marys. So while a traditional Worcestershire sauce is neither vegetarian nor vegan, it does offer great umami flavor and some saltiness to otherwise meatless dishes. The good news is that there are some good vegan options out there — such as 365 Organic and Annie’s. And you’ll find that just about any kind of Worcestershire sauce brings out the best in our Black Bean Burgers.

Experimenting with spices and seasonings like these can lead the way to your next pot of amazingly flavorful vegetarian beans.

A History of Spice Mixes

According to Judy Walker, food writer for Nola.com and The Times Picayune, “Chefs and home cooks have combined salt, pepper, spices and herbs forever, or at least as long as there have been Herbes de Provence, curries and Chinese five-spice powder. Blends make cooking more convenient and dishes consistent. But the tremendous growth of spice mixes in the past 30 years can be traced in great measure to Louisiana, first to Tony Chachere, then to New Orleans through Paul Prudhomme and, later, Emeril Lagasse.”

Some would say the king of these spice mixes is Creole seasoning.

A Blend Born of Necessity

A delicious blend of paprika, dried oregano, ground black pepper, dried basil, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, granulated onion, dried thyme, and granulated garlic, Creole seasoning was originally created by Tony Chachere out of sheer necessity. He was a travelling insurance salesman who often took his own spices and herbs on the road to season his food, and to make things easier, he traded in his bottles and jars for a custom blend. In 1972, when he wrote a cookbook and included the recipe for his concoction, people wanted to buy it.

Just Add Some “Tony’s”

Now, even though you’ll find other brands of Creole seasoning on grocery store shelves, Tony Chachere’s is synonymous with the all-purpose salty/spicy blend. Many fans who grew up with it add it to just about everything — red beans and rice, gumbo, Creole tomatoes, eggs, and bloody marys — and refer to it simply as “Tony’s”.

A Red Beans & Rice Essential

In fact, to many, it’s a mandatory ingredient when it comes to cooking their red beans and rice. Just as no self-respecting Louisiana cook would think to make a pot of red beans without the Trinity or bay leaves, many lend the same importance to Creole seasoning, saying the beans absorb the flavors of the seasoning as they cook. It’s also popular to add it at the table, as many do with hot sauces and vinegars.

So try some Creole seasoning in your next batch of red beans, and while you’re at it, add it to any foods that need doctoring up with a hit of bold flavor.

See our recipes that use Creole seasoning.

Dragonwagon, who sometimes calls herself a Southern Yankee, was born in Manhattan to a Virginian mother and lived for 33 years in the Ozark Mountain community of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. There, she ran an acclaimed country inn and restaurant, Dairy Hollow House, with her late husband, Ned Shank. She called the inn’s style of cuisine “Nouveau’Zarks”, and celebrated local ingredients back in the early ‘80’s, an outlier on what has come to be called the farm-to-table movement.

The James Beard Award-winning cookbook author (for the book Passionate Vegetarian) has appeared on the Today Show and Good Morning America. She works in many genres; she’s also published dozens of children’s books, two novels, and hundreds of magazine articles for publications ranging from Bon Appetit and Fine Cooking to Cosmopolitan and the New York Times Book Review.

Her Bean by Bean cookbook (Workman Publishing) is a cornucopia of more than 175 bean recipes — including soups, salads, chilis, stews, casseroles and curries and hashes, side-dishes and mains, even desserts. Some of Crescent’s recipes are traditional, some brand-new, but almost all have a twist or kick that reinvents and deepens flavors, allowing old favorites to be rediscovered.

“Beans are so generous,” she says, when asked why she spent four years on a single ingredient. “Instead of depleting the soil as they grow, like corn does, beans enrich it. And then, as a foodstuff: you can eat beans as sprouts, you can eat the blossoms of many varieties, you can eat them as green beans, or fresh-shelled. But best of all is what happens when you soak the dry mature beans and then cook them. It’s almost unbelievable that from these tiny hard little seeds you end up with such an abundance of creamy tender goodness. And on top of that, all that goodness is healthy and affordable. All beans ask, really, is to be prepared and cooked and seasoned with a little thoughtfulness and loving care.”

Crescent does just that. And Camellia brand is excited to feature her take on lima beans in several irresistible recipes from her Bean by Bean cookbook: a traditional Brunswick Stew, a creamy, comforting, down-home Southern Country-Style Butter Bean & Green Bean Soup with Potatoes, and a company-worthy ragout of Shiitake Mushrooms, Butter Beans & Southern Greens served over cheese grits.

In addition to cooking, developing recipes, and writing about food, Crescent presents regularly at the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and is a frequent speaker at schools, universities, and libraries. She blogs about food (Deep Feast), and you can find her on Instagram and Facebook. And if you ever wonder what she’s eating, just Google #dinnerwithdragonwagon.

A new exhibit about the history of Red Beans in New Orleans debuts at the SoFAB Museum

Have you “bean” to the Southern Food & Beverage Museum lately? It’s the new home of “Red Bean City,” an exciting exhibit on red beans created by Camellia Brand® and Bent Media. The Grand Opening is on August 3, and the Camellia Family and friends will be there to celebrate! We’ll also raise a birthday toast to New Orleans’ most famous red bean lover, jazz hero Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, who was born on August 4, 1901.

Red Bean City, an exhibit by Camellia Brand

The ongoing romance of New Orleans and red beans is a story that is about to be told! The Red Bean City exhibit at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, explores how and why this beloved dish is an unstoppable weekly ritual and a symbol of local culture and way of life in New Orleans. The Hayward family of Camellia Beans tells their story going all the way back to 1836, and you’ll get a look at how a New Orleans trumpet player, a small army of creole cooks, a chicken king’s secret chef, and the people of New Orleans helped propel the red kidney bean to worldwide acclaim.  

Red Bean Kitchen

In the exhibit, take a seat in the “kitchen” and soak in the feeling of warm, happy family gatherings then and now. Can’t you just smell the red beans simmering on the stove? Post your family’s red bean recipe secrets (Mawmaw won’t mind, right?) on the Red Bean Secrets wall – you’ll be in good company there among Red Bean Hall of Famers like New Orleans jazz hero Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (who signed his letters “red beans and ricely yours”) and red bean restaurateurs Willie Mae Sutton, Buster Holmes and Warren Leruth.

Bean Culture Worldwide

Beans and Rice are celebrated dishes all over the Americas and the Caribbean and are closely related to the cultural identity of each region. The exhibit takes a tour through some of the most beloved beans and rice traditions around the world and traces the migration of this food pairing from Africa and Europe.

Join the Red Bean Parade  

Ever heard of the Krewe of Red Beans? Their famous red bean parade marches the streets of New Orleans every year at Mardi Gras, but year-round at the Red Bean City exhibit you can put on one of the Krewe’s spectacular handmade bean costumes and snap a “parade” selfie.

National Culinary Register

The Hayward family of Camellia Brand Beans is also celebrating another great honor: Camellia Brand is now on the National Culinary Register! The Register is an expansive list of culinary products, processes, inventions, traditions, and establishments that are at least fifty years old and have contributed significantly to the development of American foodways. The first and only register of its kind, the Culinary Heritage Register is an initiative designed to explore and preserve the complex history of food and beverage in America.

Come Monday in the Shaya household, James Beard award winning Chef Alon Shaya hangs up his apron and his wife Emily takes the reins to cook her famous red beans & rice. Emily Shaya (whom Chef Shaya refers to as The Red Bean Queen) is well known for her taste on a number of levels, and her red beans are no exception. Amidst running restaurants, writing a cookbook and other businesses, the couple has hosted this regular New Orleans Monday ritual at their home with friends and family since they were wed. The two share a love of New Orleans tradition and find this regular gathering grounds them and keeps them connected to the ones they love.

Beyond the kitchen, Emily is founder & owner of a New Orleans-based event rental company Pret a Fete a collection of chic antique, vintage, and unique furniture and accessories. We like to think of her as a mover, a shaker and we now know – she’s a soaker. So, how does The Red Bean Queen do it? Read on.

1. What are your secrets to perfect Red Beans & Rice?
I always soak my red beans, even if it’s just for a few hours.  Some people may disagree, but I think it helps ensure they are nice and creamy by suppertime.

2. Do you put any unique ingredients in your pot of red beans?
I always use the best cajun meats I can find.  We will go on a road trip to Scott or Eunice Louisiana and stock up on tasso, andouille sausage, or smoked ham shanks.  The folks out there are preserving their local traditions making spectacular meats and I want to support them.

3. What do you eat with red beans and rice?
I usually make a salad with in season ingredients with a tart dressing to accompany the red beans and rice.  Right now, since it is summer, we are making a local peach and heirloom tomato panzanella at home, it is delicious!

4. What does red beans and rice mean to you?
We invite the same group of people over to our house every Monday for red beans, so for us, red beans means community & family.  We have celebrated our friends birthdays, engagements, business and personal successes, and even mourned over beans.  It’s such a hearty and comforting food, the dish really fits all occasions.

5. What’s next for you (both)?
We take on life one red bean Monday at a time, haha!  Seriously, we are excited about Alon’s new cookbook debuting next spring.  It was a labor of love for both of us, because the entire process took place in our kitchen, from recipe testing to photography.  I styled the book as well, so the book even reflects my style that I’ve honed over the years while running my specialty event rental business Pret a Fete.

Get Emily Shaya’s famous Red Beans & Rice recipe here.

Known for its nutritional, medicinal, and flavor benefits, garlic is a natural superfood that’s a part of culinary traditions around the world. Considered both an herb and a vegetable, garlic is part of the bulbus allium family and consists of a bulb and multiple cloves (often called a toe).

You can purchase garlic dried, jarred, or fresh, and use it in a multitude of different ways. Luckily, garlic is available all year round, but is freshest during the July – October months.

Garlic Packs A Flavor Punch

In both scent and flavor, garlic is easily recognized by the senses, and fresh garlic can add flavor to even the simplest of dishes. Utilized with beans, pasta and rice dishes, pizza, dips, spreads and more – garlic is an incredibly versatile ingredient that compliments many cooking styles.

Louisianians love strong flavor, so it’s no wonder this ingredient is a go-to essential for their beloved Louisiana-style Red Beans and more.

Cooking & Handling Raw Garlic

While simple, chopping or mincing garlic can be a sticky endeavor. Once the garlic has been removed from its casing, the release of sugars and oils can make it difficult to work with. The smell of garlic on your fingers can also linger for as long as a week! If you aren’t looking to wear a garlic scent, you can purchase a garlic press to cleanly and quickly mince garlic for recipes.

Garlic cooks very quickly, so it’s important to either add it when other ingredients are in the pot, or to start cooking it over low heat. Continuous stirring is also key, so that the garlic doesn’t burn. Burnt garlic produces a bitter scent and can leave a dish tasting less than delicious. So, do yourself a flavor favor and follow the above tips.

Storing Raw Garlic

Be sure to store any garlic in a dry and dark place, with a lot of air circulation. It’s recommended to store in a wire basket or mesh bag. It’s best to store garlic as an entire head, or bulb, because it lasts longer. Once you break a head of garlic, it immediately reduces the shelf life to just a few days. When intact, the head itself can stay fresh for many months under the right conditions.

If you have leftover fresh garlic, don’t fret! Bag it and store in the refrigerator, but be sure to use it as soon as possible to prevent it from sprouting and going bad.

Garlic Breath

Did you ever wonder why red beans and rice is often topped with parsley? Parsley is well known for taming the scent of most overly pungent flavors on the tongue, and often provides a nice visual accent to dishes. For red beans and rice, it’s no different. To help counteract the acidity of garlic and get fresher breath, chew on some parsley after a garlic-y meal.

Garlic Benefits

Cooking with garlic has a long-standing history around the world, but its medicinal benefits are known across cultures, as well. In the 1500s across Western Europe, garlic was often utilized to combat infection and served as a cure for the plague or smallpox. It was even used as an insect repellant. Throughout the course of many wars, its antiseptic properties were relied upon to provide relief and treatment for ailments like dysentery.

Garlic is incredibly nutritious, fortified with many B vitamins as well as folate, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, and zinc. It’s proven to reduce cholesterol and is considered a cancer preventer when eaten raw daily.

It also doesn’t hurt that it can help fight a cold, and invigorates both hair and skin.

Vampires Beware:

The most famous of all garlic folklore is its association with vampires. This was popularised in the West by Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, but it has long been a repellant of “bad souls” across Eastern European and Egyptian cultures.

Why garlic? Because of its healing possibilities and ability to repel insects, it’s believed that garlic placed around the neck or around the room will repel a vampire.

Check out bean recipes with garlic.

Detail of the “Beanmobile” being decorated by the Red Beans Krewe for their Lundi Gras parade.

Raised On Red Beans.

Louis Armstrong loved to eat almost as much as he loved to play. Born in New Orleans, it’s no surprise that his favorite dish was red beans and rice. So important was the iconic meal that he asked his future wife Lucille to prepare it for him before he would propose. Later in life, he would sign his letters “Red Beans and Ricely Yours”.

Image Courtesy of Louis Armstrong House Museum

Louis Armstrong’s Recipe for Creole Red Beans And Rice

POPS FAVORITE DISH

By – Louis and Lucille Armstrong

• (Use 2 qt. pot with cover)
• 1 lb. Kidney Beans
• 1/2 lb. Salt Pork (Strip of lean, strip of fat)
• (Slab Bacon may be used if preferred)
• 1 small can of tomato sauce (if desired)
• 6 small Ham Hocks or one smoked Pork Butt
• 2 onions diced
• 1/4 green (bell) pepper
• 5 tiny or 2 medium dried peppers
• 1 clove garlic – chopped
• Salt to taste

Preparation

Wash beans thoroughly, then soak overnight in cold water. Be sure to cover beans. To cook, pour water off beans, add fresh water to cover. Add salt pork or bacon, let come to a boil over full flame in covered pot. Turn flame down to slightly higher than low and let cook one and one-half hours. Add diced onions, bell pepper, garlic, dried peppers and salt. Cook three hours. Add tomato sauce, cook one and one-half hours more, adding water whenever necessary. Beans and meat should always be just covered with water (juice), never dry. This serves 6 or more persons…

To prepare with Ham Hocks or Pork Butts….. Wash meat, add water to cover and let come to a boil in covered pot over medium flame. Cook one and one-half hours. Then add beans (pour water off), add rest of ingredients to meat. Cook four and one-half hours. Add water when necessary.

Suggestions

For non pork eaters, chicken fat may be used instead of salt pork. Corned beef or beef tongue may be used instead of ham hocks or butts.

Rice

• 2 cups white rice
• 2 cups water
• One teaspoon of salt
• One pot with cover

Wash rice thoroughly, have water and salt come to a boil. Add rice to boiling water. Cook until rice swells and water is almost evaporated. Cover and turn flame down low. Cook until rice is grainy. To insure grainy rice, always use one and one-half cups water to one cup of rice…

New Orleans is a Red Bean City

When a young Paul Prudhomme moved to New Orleans to take a sous chef position at the Le Pavillon Hotel in 1970, the city’s obsession with red kidney beans came as a shock. Though a native Louisianian, he grew up thinking red kidneys were, in his words, “just another dried bean, like pinto beans and lima beans.” But according to Susan Tucker’s New Orleans Cuisine, he soon discovered that red beans were “a cultural phenomenon, a tradition dating back for hundreds of years.”

Red kidney beans are as ubiquitous a symbol of New Orleans as the fleur-de-lis, a rite as common as Carnival. The city’s culinary connection to the lowly red bean is mighty, stretching over centuries, across distant cultures and peoples around the globe. The bean is so symbolic of the city that a newcomer, or culinary dilettante, could be fooled into thinking that the red kidney bean was native to Louisiana, which it is of course not. But, still, “this is a red bean city here”, the famed fried chicken and bean cook Willie Mae Seaton of her eponymous Scotch House was quoted as saying. In Sara Roahen’s Gumbo Tales, she said, “That’s it. If you don’t have no red beans you just out.”

“A Favorite Dish Among Creole Families”

No one knows for sure why and how New Orleanians began to eat red beans and rice. “Red beans are to New Orleans what the white bean is to Boston and the cowpea is to South Carolina,” reporters for the Federal Writers Project wrote in 1938. No definite answers exist in the historical record, though it probably travelled over with early nineteenth-century exiles from the French Caribbean.

The dish appears in cookbooks around the turn of the century, with The Picayune’s Creole Cook Book, one of the first locally published recipe books, being one of the first to include instructions on how to cook a pot of kidney beans.

“Red Beans are a favorite dish among Creole families,” the book discloses in a chapter heading containing seven different red bean recipes (including one for red or white bean polenta!). “The great amount of sustenance to be found in this and the White Bean commending it especially as a food for growing children and adults who labor hard. The beautiful color and excellent flavor of the Red Bean has won for it a place among the most highly esteemed legumes.” A recipe for Red Beans, Plain Boiled suggests that “this is an excellent way of preparing red beans for Fridays and fast days.” The recipe for Purée of Red Beans ends with a mention that “thus prepared, red beans may be eaten by the most delicate invalid with excellent results as to recuperation.” Bacon and Beans à la Créole reveals that “this is a favorite dish with the little Creole children, and is most wholesome and palatable.”

Mondays Were Red Bean Days

Monday is the day most often associated with the dish because, as the well-trod story goes, the first day of the week was washing day, and the woman responsible for providing a household with a clean set of clothes was also obligated to feed the household that evening. Cleaning and cooking left little time and attention for both, so a pot of red beans was left on the stove, simmering long and gentle throughout the day.

It’s a good tale, with perhaps some truth and historical value to it. But we can also look to other cultures, other histories, for similar tales linking a specific day with a long-simmered pot of beans.

Sabbath and Sundays Were Bean Days, Too

Hamin, sometimes called cholent or, in Spain, adafina, is a food of the Jewish diaspora. Traditionally this fava bean stew is prepared on the Sabbath, simmering for hours because no work could be done and no fires lit on this day of rest. Heinrich Heine, a intellectual heavyweight of 19th century Germany, described cholent as “the very Food of heaven, which on Sinai, God Himself instructed Moses In the secret of preparing.”

Similarly, as one theory goes, the origin of Boston Baked Beans can be traced back to the pilgrims, who adopted the practice of simmering beans in salt pork and some sort of sugar for hours from the local First Peoples. The preparation of this one-pot dish appealed to the Pilgrims because it allowed them to start the cooking on Saturday night, so as to have food to feed the family, while not having to work to do so, on the Sabbath.

Sunday’s Hambone Made Monday’s Red Beans

The other theory is that we eat red beans on Monday to reuse, or perhaps upcycle, the hambone left over from Sunday’ s dinner. Little to no historical evidence proves this theory, though Peter Feibleman, a New York-born writer raised in New Orleans, gives it a good try in American Cooking: Creole and Acadian: “a ham bone is considered the whole point of the ham. Without it, you could hardly live through Monday, for on that day, as everyone knows, you need it to get a lyrical taste into what sounds at first like the drabbest of local recipes — the classic Monday dish of red beans and rice. The secret is known to you though if you’ve sat as a child in a New Orleans kitchen on a Monday and seen the cook either crack the ham bone or make sure that one end of it is open. . . . If it is, the thick marrow from the bone leaks into the simmering beans, coats them, cooks slowly with them, seems to drain them of starch and produces a silky food that is more like incredibly tender meat that like a vegetable.”

New Orleanians like Feibleman, both born and adopted, have tried their best to put into words exactly why they cherish a bowlful of Monday red beans and rice. John Churchill Chase, the beloved New Orleans cartoonist and reporter, recorded a song local children used to sing while jumping rope: Red Beans and Rice, quartée red beans, quartée rice, little piece of salt meat to make it taste nice, lend me the paper and tell me the time, when papa passes by he’ll pay you the dime.

Louis Armstrong’s Favorite Dish

Image Courtesy of Louis Armstrong House Museum

New Orleans’ s favorite son, Louis Armstrong, would often famously sign letters and autographs with, “Am red beans and ricely yours, Louis.” In his memoir Satchmo, Armstrong writes of learning to cook red beans and rice at a young age. His sister, whom he called Mama Lucy, cooked courtbouillon, creole gumbo, cabbage and rice, jambalaya, but his favorite dish of hers was red beans and rice. While courting his fourth wife, the Bronx-born Lucille Wilson, the then immensely famous, and wealthy, trumpeter asked, “ Can you cook red beans and rice?” She learned, and they were remained married until his passing. “As for red beans and rice, well, I don’t have to say anything about that,” Armstrong wrote. “It is my birth mark.”

The Bean Ratings

Gene Bourg, former restaurant critic for the Times-Picayune, of course wrote about red beans, but it was a simple act that symbolized his, and his city’s, love for the bean. In 1985 he chose red beans over stars, the New York Times oft-repeated symbol, to rate, one through five, the city’ s burgeoning restaurant scene. The bean rating is still used today.

Buster Holmes, The King of Red Beans and Rice

Buster Holmes, the dearly departed chef and proprietor of a restaurant of the same name, was perhaps the greatest red beans cook that ever stirred a pot. According to writer Jeff Hannusch’s article titled “Red Beans and Rice” in New Orleans Magazine (March 1984), Holmes said of the dish: “I can see it only getting more and more popular. I cooked beans and rice for chefs and people all over Europe, and they couldn’t get enough of them. . . . New Orleans has always been a red bean town, and as far as I can see it always will be.”

The last word will go to someone not associated with New Orleans, Michael Franti, a California-born musician and poet who with his band Spearhead wrote the most loving ode to New Orleans’ s unofficial official dish. From a verse and chorus of their song “Red Beans and Rice”: Most people on the planet eat beans and rice. Some can’t afford beef or they think cows are nice. Red beans and rice, red beans and rice, red beans and rice, Make everything nice Red beans and rice, red beans and rice, red beans and rice I could eat a plate twice. So nice. So nice. So nice.

Rien Fertel is a Louisiana-born and based food writer, historian, and teacher. He grew up in his family’s chain of restaurants across the country. His work has appeared in Oxford American, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Spirit, Saveur, The Local Palate, and many other publications. He holds a PhD in History and teaches in New Orleans.

Crab Boil: Traditionally Used to Flavor Seafood

Crab boil is a spice mixture that’s traditionally used to flavor crabs and other shellfish when boiling seafood. And since Louisiana-style crab boil tends to be spicier than in other parts of the country, it’s not surprising that it often contains a fiery combination of cayenne pepper, salt, bay leaves, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, allspice, dill seed, black peppercorns and crushed red pepper. It’s found in two forms: 1) dry spices, usually housed within a mesh or cheesecloth bag that gets thrown into the seafood boiling pot to steep, and 2) a liquid concentrate that can be added directly to the water.

Boosts Flavor & Spice in All Kinds of Dishes

The real magic is in the liquid concentrate that’s made with spice extractives like essential oils (the aromatic components of a spice, normally extracted by steam distillation). Why? Because the liquid concentrate can be used to boost the flavor in all kinds of delicious dishes. And in South Louisiana, that means going well beyond boiled seafood. Many add a splash to their red beans (as well as to their rice-cooking water) for spicy, delicious flavor. But you’ll also find that folks add it to egg wash before frying seafood, as well as to gumbos, etouffées, and potato salad (again, to the water they boil their potatoes in). And some even go so far as to add it to melted butter used to roast potatoes and other vegetables.

Try a Few Drops in Your Red Beans

It’s potent stuff, but because you can literally use it drop by drop, you can control the level of spiciness and flavor it imparts. Haven’t tried it yet? Give it a go in your next batch of red beans and rice; you’ll be glad you did. Just remember, a little goes a long way, so be judicious. And enjoy.

Camellia beans are now available on more grocery store shelves throughout the Southeastern U.S. — and you can find them at Winn-Dixie and Harvey stores in Florida and Alabama. Fourteen different products are making their debut, including Camellia’s legendary and the nation’s top selling Red Beans, Blackeye Peas, Great Northerns, Large Limas, Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Green Split Peas, and Lentils. The family-owned company is based in the New Orleans area, and its passion for bean quality spans four generations.

“People are responding to our authentic heritage brand, and we’re excited to be part of their meals,” commented owner Vince Hayward. For generations, Camellia has been a part of New Orleans culinary traditions, particularly through the city’s favorite Red Beans and Rice dish. Hayward credits that popularity for crystalizing national demand for Camellia Beans. “We’ve found that visitors and former residents want to experience the delicious iconic dish wherever they are. Their satisfaction with Camellia Red Beans inspires them to reach for our other offerings,” Hayward added.

While the company has fans around the nation and ships internationally, this is the first time that Camellia has been widely distributed beyond its traditional Louisiana, Texas and Gulf Coast strong-hold. Camellia’s dried beans, peas and lentils are versatile and appeal to both home cooks and chefs. They’re loaded with protein, fiber, and nutrients, are economical, and are delicious as a main course – with or without meat.

Since 1923, Camellia Brand has been deeply rooted in New Orleans and beyond. Camellia is honored to help bring people together over delicious southern meals and celebrations. Here at camelliabrand.com, you’ll find recipes, cooking videos, nutritional information, and entertaining tips to feed a hungry crowd. Check out the Red Beans Parade, and read more about the family behind the brand whose beans, peas and lentils exceed USDA standards.

From a competition among 64 New Orleans restaurants and chefs, it all came down to just one Red Bean Madness Champion — Chef Cedrick Lewis of Cornet took home the winner’s cup, and he and his restaurant own the title of best red beans in New Orleans!

Chef Cedric Lewis of Cornet crowned Red Bean Madness Champion for 2017.

A final championship showdown took place at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum on Sunday, April 2nd, and Cornet defeated Avery’s on Tulane with a score of 61 – 49. Chef Lewis was honored with the tournament’s “Legume D’Or” Trophy, which will stay in Cornet’s kitchen until March of 2018.

Inspired by the annual March Madness college basketball tournament, the inaugural Bean Madness tournament (created and organized by our Red Bean Parade friends) pit 64 New Orleans restaurants & chefs against one another to see who makes the city’s best red beans. The single elimination tournament raised money for nonprofits Anna’s Place, which offers after-school and summer camp programs as well as health outreach and a food pantry, and Make Music Nola, a free music-for-social-change program. And here at Camellia brand, we were thrilled to co-sponsor the competition.

Over the last few weeks, the tournament featured pop-up blind-taste tests around New Orleans, and the experts on the matter—the people of New Orleans—judged the red beans, voted for their favorites, and ultimately crowned the champion. They also filled out brackets to see if they could get lucky predicting the results.

After four rounds, the tournament featured four remaining competitors known as the “Final Fork”. Each was declared the winner of its respective geographic area of the city: Avery’s on Tulane (Mid City — East), Cornet (French Quarter), Joey K’s (Uptown) and Frady’s (Downtown). The final round came down to Cornet and Avery’s, with Cornet crowned the winner.

Red Beans & Rice is an iconic New Orleans dish that’s talked about, debated, cooked, and beloved across the southern United States. And just like other traditional rice and bean dishes that prevail throughout North and South America, it inspires tremendous local pride and is a key component of our cultural identity.

Red Kidneys: From Ancient Mexico to the Caribbean and Beyond

In ancient Mexico, the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Teotihuacan peoples, and eventually the Aztecs, grew kidney beans. The beans were originally grown alongside corn and squash; beans were trained to climb the stalks of corn. The agricultural trifecta provided much-needed nitrogen to replenish the soil and a well-rounded diet to its eaters. The three moved together upward into the Caribbean and throughout the North American mainland.

On November 4, 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovered” the kidney bean on the island of Cuba, writing in his diary, “The country is very fertile . . . They have beans of kinds very different from ours.” He called these American beans fabas, because they reminded him of favas of Western Europe, and the Latin name stuck: phaseolus. The American beans were taken back to Europe and adopted into local foodways centuries before tomatoes, peppers, corn, and potatoes. According to Beans: A History, kidneys were largely deemed peasant food for centuries, a history revealed by its eventual Latin designation, Phaseolus vulgaris, aka the vulgar, or ‘common’ bean.

French Glandoulat

Kidneys buttressed and amplified stewy dishes throughout early modern Europe. Like in Glandoulat, a southwestern French dish in which red kidney beans join pork, carrots, spices, Armagnac, and goose fat.

Rice and Beans – A Classic Combination

The classic combination of rice and beans, or some starchy substitute, has long been equated with sustaining life. “Rice is god,” a Hindu proverb says, “but lentils are my life.” In many corners of the world, rice and beans, peas, or lentils are often paired — the Japanese celebrate certain holidays with a bowl of white glutinous rice and red adzuki beans. But nowhere are beans and rice more prominent than in the Americas, both North and South, where the pairing of grain and legume is often the unofficial national dish.

Brazilian Feijoada

In Brazil, the unofficial national dish is Feijoada, a stew of black beans and salted pork commonly served alongside a heaping of rice.

Cuban Frijoles Negros

In Cuba, they eat Moros y Cristianos, ‘Moors and Christians,’ a name given for the combination of black beans (Moros/dark) and rice (Christians/white), as well as Frijoles Negros, where the black beans are served on top of, or alongside rice.

Nicaraguan & Costa Rican Gallo Pinto

According to Rice and Beans, A Unique Dish in a Hundred Places, Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans fight over who invented Gallo Pinto, or ‘spotted rooster,’ another melange of black or red beans and rice.

Caribbean Rice & Beans

Caribbean Rice & Beans (often called Caribbean Rice & Peas) is a popular Sunday lunch dish made with red kidney beans, rice, scotch bonnet peppers, and coconut milk.

Hoppin’ John

The red beans and rice equivalent in other parts of the South, especially in South Carolina, is Hoppin’ John, a mix of salt pork, rice, and blackeye peas or cowpeas (some French-speaking Louisianians might call this dish jambalaya au congri). Cowpeas are the preferred legume in the Carolinas. George Washington Carver, the African-American scientist, said of the lowly cowpea: “As a food for man, the cowpea should be to the South, what the White, Soup, Navy, or Boston bean is to the North, East, and West: and it may be prepared in a sufficient number of ways to suit the most fastidious palate.”

African Red-Red

Hailing from Ghana, African Red-Red is a red stew made with blackeye peas and served with rice and plantains. Blackeye peas were brought by or with enslaved West Africans to the Americas, first to the mid-Atlantic seaboard, likely alongside rice.

Rice: Red Beans’ Most Popular Partner

Some rice was grown in Louisiana as early as the 1840s, with some imported from the rice capital of South Carolina. Rice cultivation in the state finally took off in the 1870s, with a massive expansion occurring around 1900. Today, Louisiana is ranked third in the production of rice in the United States, after Arkansas and California.

No one knows for sure why and how New Orleanians began to eat red beans and rice. “Red beans are to New Orleans what the white bean is to Boston and the cowpea is to South Carolina,” reporters for the Federal Writers Project wrote in 1938. No definite answers exist in the historical record, though it probably travelled over with early nineteenth-century exiles from the French Caribbean.

Rien Fertel is a Louisiana-born and based food writer, historian, and teacher. He grew up in his family’s chain of restaurants across the country. His work has appeared in Oxford American, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Spirit, Saveur, The Local Palate, and many other publications. He holds a PhD in History and teaches in New Orleans.

A Spice-Aisle Staple for Vegetarians

Liquid smoke is a spice-aisle staple among vegetarian bean lovers, and they swear by its ability to add great smoky flavor to vegetarian red beans & rice. While smoked meat purists might not approve, liquid smoke fans claim it’s a meatless shortcut to savory, woodsy flavor. It provides the flavor of smoke without using smoked meats or cooking food over an open flame. Of course, you can use it to add extra smoky flavor — even if your dish also includes smoked meat.

So what exactly is liquid smoke? It’s literally wood smoke that has been condensed into a liquid form. Invented by Ernest H. Wright in 1895, it’s the result of running smoke from burning hickory wood through a condenser, and collecting the droplets. At the time, it was an inexpensive alternative to the common practice of smoking meat, and it was used more as a preservative than a flavoring agent, due to its natural antimicrobial properties.

A Great Way to Add Smoky Flavor

With the widespread appeal of summer campfires and backyard barbecues that came along in the 1950s and 60s, as well as the acceptance of flavoring condiments such as ketchup and barbecue sauce, liquid smoke gained popularity. Now, it’s marketed as a great way to quickly add smoky flavor to your favorite foods. And as you might expect, it’s popular as an ingredient in the production of barbecue-style meats, smoky bacon and smoked cheeses.

Most brands of liquid smoke are made the same, all-natural way that Wright did it way back when. Nowadays, you’ll sometimes find additional ingredients such as molasses, salt or vinegar.

A Little Goes A Long Way

The most important thing to know about using liquid smoke is that a little goes a long way — whether a dish is vegetarian or not. Dash it sparingly into chili, stews, soups and slow cooker dishes. Try adding a few drops to your red beans, and taste as you go. The flavor is intense, and you don’t want to overpower your dish. When tightly sealed and stored in a cool, dark place, it should maintain its flavor and aroma. So the next time you want to go for that special savory flavor, reach for the liquid smoke.

Recently, we caught up with Chef Jay Ducote about his two-week Red Beans & Rice Tour through Texas. Along with his culinary crew, he cooked up over 250 lbs. of authentic Louisiana-style Red Beans & Rice with pop-up events at favorite breweries and restaurants across the state.

Jay Ducote is a chef, writer, speaker, entertainer and hugger based out of Baton Rouge, LA. He’s got a long bio, but to keep it short, he was a finalist on Food Network Star in 2015 and does big things in the food and beverage world. He runs a culinary media company called Bite & Booze and pretty much eats and drinks for a living.

What are your secrets to perfect Red Beans & Rice?

I love cooking red beans and rice outside in large cast-iron cauldrons. That’s how my cousin Travis taught me to do it at LSU tailgate parties. We soak the beans overnight, then cook them in the water that we soaked them in — to make sure there’s even more bean flavor in the finished product. The keys are: a good smoked sausage (we got ours for the trip from City Pork in Baton Rouge), a nice seasoning (we used Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, plus some kosher salt), and some herbs like bay leaves, sweet basil and sage.

I’ve got to give a shout out to Chef Aimee Tortorich, who is the future executive chef of Gov’t Taco which I’m opening in Baton Rouge this summer, as well as my Bite & Booze culinary director. She took the lead on cooking each pot of red beans throughout the trip and did a marvelous job. It’s nice because we really both cook ours the same way, so we feed off of each other’s cooking really well.

For Louisianians, making and eating red beans & rice is a ritual, and is often paired with must-have seasonings and go-to sides. What are yours?

I find that red beans need a little hot sauce. The vinegar gives a little acidity that the earthy beans need. We brought Slap Ya Mama’s Cajun Pepper Sauce on the tour with us, and people loved it. Of course, you also need a good Louisiana rice to serve red beans over. We use Supreme Rice out of Crowley, Louisiana. Their long grain white rice is perfect for red beans, gumbo, or any other dish you’re serving over rice. I also love a little corn bread with my red beans, too!

What was your favorite part about Jay D’s Red Beans & Rice Tour of Texas?

Making friends with all the people that I got to meet along the way! I met so many new people in each city, and I’m really glad I got to be out and about throughout so much of Texas. I also really liked being able to connect with old friends from my high school and college days who are scattered around Texas now!

What did folks like best about the tour?

It seemed like the red beans themselves were one of the biggest hits from our tour. People gobbled them up at every stop. It was nice to bring some authentic Louisiana flavor to deep in the heart of Texas. We met people who were eating Louisiana red beans for the first time and people who grew up on red beans but hadn’t had them in ages. It was nice to see their reaction as they tasted a part of their childhood again.

What’s next for Jay Ducote?

What’s next is always a good question! I’m giving a TEDxLSU talk on March 11th about my Single Origin Coffee project with beans from a small community in the Dominican Republic. We’re also working on launching my first restaurant concept, Gov’t Taco, which will be a modern American taco shop in White Star Market in Baton Rouge, opening this summer. I’m always hoping to have more travel and TV appearances in the future, so hopefully some big things will happen there, too! It’s a pretty crazy journey that I’m on. If anybody wants to follow along, you can find me at jayducote.com, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

A take-off on the annual college basketball March Madness event, the 2018 Red Bean Madness Tournament event features 57 restaurants and individual chefs competing to see who makes the best red beans & rice in New Orleans!

The 2017 Red Bean Madness Champion was Cornet, a Cajun and Creole restaurant in the heart of the French Quarter.

A series of of head-to-head blind taste tests will take place at pop-ups all over the city – from corner bars and bookstores to groceries and markets. The first match ups, which involve all 57 of the original competitors, begin Thursday, March 8, 2018 and will go throughout the month. If you’re in NOLA, please come join us for some red beans & rice, and cast your vote during the taste tests. Check out pop-up dates, times and places for tasting and voting!

All tastings are free, but donations are always appreciated. Donations benefit the nonprofits Anna’s Place, which offers after-school and summer camp programs as well as health outreach and a food pantry, and Make Music Nola, a free music-for-social-change program.

Check out all the events, and we’ll see you there!

Rice is an essential but often-overlooked co-star of Louisiana’s most famous and distinctive dishes: gumbo, étouffée, jambalaya, dirty rice, rice and gravy, and — yes — red beans and rice. And when you’re choosing the rice that will complement your cooking, there’s no reason to settle for run-of-the-mill varieties when something as delicious as popcorn rice is available.

Savor the Hints of Nuts and Popcorn

Popcorn rice — a Louisiana-bred long-grain specialty variety of aromatic rice — is a sure-fire way to make your red beans even tastier. Popcorn rice delivers just what you’d expect from the name: a uniquely strong, nutty, toasty, popcorn-like aroma that is comparable to basmati rice.

The prominent extra flavor and fragrance in popcorn rice come from natural biochemicals that rice farmers purposefully cultivate, chiefly one called 2-acetyl 1-pyroline (or 2AP) that delivers the special aroma. You’ve heard of artisan cheeses, beers, and sausages; well, popcorn rice is an artisan grain.

Better Ingredients, Better Beans

The preparation of popcorn rice is generally no different from other varieties of white rice, though you should refer to your package’s label for specific instructions. To preserve its flavor, store popcorn rice in a cool, dry place or even freeze it.

Your red beans and rice won’t be any worse off if you don’t use popcorn rice, but as with anything you cook, the better ingredients you use, the tastier your final product will be. Using popcorn rice (or other aromatic types such as pecan rice and jasmine rice) is simply another way to up your kitchen game with a higher-quality flavor component that will never be accused of blandness.

It’s a simple truism in cooking that chicken stock makes everything taste better, and that includes your red beans and rice.

Why settle for using just water in your beans when this stock can add hints of chicken along with the delicious essences of an array of aromatic vegetables, herbs, and spices?

The Secret to the Stock: Bones

In chicken stock, it’s the bird’s bones that infuse the water with that extra-special flavor and mouthfeel, thanks to the gelatin that’s released during the simmering process. (Chicken stock is different from chicken broth in that the latter uses more meat than bones.)

Use as much chicken stock as you want in your beans. Even just a little should improve the overall taste of the final product. Or you can go all out and use stock entirely in the place of water.

Another great option: Use chicken stock, not water, as the liquid base for your rice.

And if it’s a truism that chicken stock makes everything better, then, naturally, homemade chicken stock trumps chicken stock out of a can or carton, or in a bouillon cube or powdered form.

Making Your Own Stock Is Simple

Whenever you have a whole chicken as a main meal, get into the habit of throwing the carcass — bones, skin, leftover meat, and all — into a stock pot or Dutch oven, then bring it to a boil along with some aromatic vegetables (such as onion, celery, carrots, garlic, leeks); herbs and spices (such as parsley, bay leaf, thyme, cloves, pepper, or anything that would go in a classic bouquet garni); along with, of course, water or even wine. The options are endless, and cookbooks are full of stock recipes. However, you probably don’t want to add salt to your stock-in-process because your chicken carcass, presumably, already contains sodium.

Let the stock simmer for several hours and then strain it, removing the fat and other particles along with the carcass. Store the broth in containers in your refrigerator or freezer to be used when needed. Obviously, freezing stock will make it last longer.

Stocks Come in Every Flavor

Stocks also can be made in similar fashion out of leftover seafood, fish, beef, veal, duck, game, or other meats for use in gumbos and other dishes. And if you’re a vegetarian, just leave out the meat and sauté your aromatic vegetables before starting the stock-making process.

If you don’t have the time or the inclination to make your own stock, try the premade products. Using a commercial version is better than using no stock at all. And in recent years, high-quality organic versions have become available, some marketed by celebrity chefs.

Red beans and rice already is the quintessential meal of south Louisiana. Adding chicken stock will add even more flavor dimensions that can only improve your final dish.

The south Louisiana specialty meat tasso resembles ham or pancetta and is a lean cut of pork that’s cured, spiced and smoked for hours to create the finished product. Although tasso can be eaten by itself, its ultimate purpose is to help season a wide variety of Cajun and Creole dishes, including red beans and rice.

Tasso (pronounced “TAH-so”) is a perfect seasoning for slow-cooked beans of all kinds, including red, black, blackeyes, butter, cannellini, navy, and Great Northerns. A little tasso goes a long way, but liberal amounts can’t hurt a dish, either.

Add Tasso to Your Trinity

When making traditional Louisiana-style red beans, start by combining tasso with the “holy trinity” of onion, celery, and bell pepper. Tasso takes the place of — or can be used in conjunction with — other seasoned meats used to sauté the trinity, such as ham hocks or bacon, infusing the base with a smoky, spicy flavor.

Tasso also complements gumbo, étouffées, soups, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, vegetables such as collard greens and Brussels Sprouts, casseroles, and pastas, especially for carbonara and cream sauces. Some food lovers like tasso as a pizza topping, while others eat it plain or on sandwiches.

Make Your Own Tasso (Or Buy It)

Home cooks can find lots recipes for making their own tasso. The preferred cut of meat is from the pig’s shoulder. Although sometimes described as “pork butt,” it’s actually not from the swine’s nether regions. The meat is cut into long strips, almost like a hearty beef jerky, before it’s seasoned and smoked.

Spices used to season the pork vary according to individual recipes but can include salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic, sugar, hot sauce, mustard, paprika, cinnamon, vinegar, and/or Worcestershire sauce. Fire up your home smoker with pecan, hickory, or oak wood, and smoke the meat for at least a couple of hours.

If you’re not up to the task of making your own tasso, commercial versions from companies like Poche’s, Richard’s, and Savoie’s are available in grocery stores, not to mention the mom-and-pop meat markets and butcher shops that dot much of Louisiana.

Rooted in the Rich Cajun Boucherie Tradition

Tasso came about during Louisiana’s pre-refrigeration age, when every bit of a slaughtered pig was turned into something edible, whether andouille, boudin, cracklings (aka gratons), patés, sausages, pork rib stews, or other delicacies. Even organ meat was used to make the local terrine known as hogshead cheese.

Cajuns perfected their charcuterie skills thanks in part to the presence of early German settlers who lived alongside them in Louisiana’s swamps, prairies, and riverside settlements. The all-day Cajun hog-butchering party known as the boucherie is fondly recalled as a fun-filled but labor-intensive community affair by many older Cajuns — a tradition that is rapidly disappearing because of the preponderance of refrigeration and the industrialization of food production.

Popularized by Trailblazing Chef Paul Prudhomme

Although Germans influenced Acadiana’s sausage-making traditions, so too did other cultures. The word “tasso” itself is derived from the Spanish word “tasajo,” for dried, smoked beef. Scholars point out that Spanish colonists lived near New Iberia, La., in the 18th century, and there were meat-smoking practices among Native Americans in the area.

Curiously, tasso was largely unknown in New Orleans until famed Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme introduced it there as a key component in his recipes. Despite its resurgence, tasso is one of America’s “delicious and distinctive foods facing extinction,” Slow Food USA has written in including it in its Ark of Taste. “By identifying and championing these foods, we keep them in production and on our plate.”

Tasso is a win-win ingredient for your New Orleans-Style Red Beans & Rice and other dishes. You can’t beat the flavor, and you’re tapping into one of America’s unique culinary traditions, rooted in the rich culture of Cajun Louisiana.

Have you ever seen the term “white beans” and wondered if it was referring to Navy beans, Great Northern beans, Cannellini beans, or Baby Lima beans? Well, it could be referring to any and all of them. And since there are so many varieties of white beans, it’s easy to be confused by what differentiates one from another. Let’s break it down:

Navy (Pea) Beans

Also called pea beans, Navy beans are small, oval-shaped, and quick-cooking. Because they get creamy when cooked, they’re perfect for mashing against the side of the pot, pureeing in dips, and thickening soups, stews, ragouts, and more. They have a mild flavor and are the bean of choice for classic Boston baked beans, Navy Bean Chowder, and quintessential South Louisiana-Style White Beans & Rice. Interestingly, the Navy bean name comes from its use as a food staple by the U.S. Navy in the early 1900s. While all beans are high in fiber, Navy beans have the most — 19 grams per cup!

Great Northern Beans

Larger than Navy Beans but smaller than Cannellini beans, medium-sized Great Northern beans are known for their mild, nutty flavor and firm flesh. Great in soups and stews, they hold their shape better than Navy beans, take on the flavors of the foods they’re cooked with, and are commonly used in French cassoulets.

Cannellini Beans

Cannellini beans are the largest of the group and because of their traditional kidney shape, they can also be referred to as White Kidney Beans. Meatier than Navy or Great Northern beans, they have a nutty, earthy flavor and tender flesh, and are often used in Italian dishes like Minestrone. They retain their shape and texture well, so they’re perfect to use in salads, soups, stews, and chili.

Baby Lima Beans

Also called “butterbeans”, Baby Lima beans are small, smooth, and creamy with a rich, buttery texture. They’re starchier than other beans and are often used in soups, stews, succotash, and casseroles, or just cooked simply with herbs and spices. In the south, they’re often cooked with ham or bacon and served over rice.

Substituting One Variety for Another

The reality is that even though the different varieties have slightly different flavors and sizes, (and everyone has their personal favorites), they’re often used interchangeably in recipes. So, for example, if a recipe calls for Cannellinis, and you only have Great Northerns on hand, your dish will still come out fine and taste delicious. So try them all to see which you like best, and enjoy.

The bay leaf is a subtle yet indispensable ingredient in south Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole cooking, used in everything from gumbo and bisque to bouillabaisse and red beans.

Containing dozens of flavor compounds, the bay leaf serves as a fragrant background element in red beans, delivering a complex combination of woodsy and tea-like characteristics to the palate.

Perfect for Slow-Cooked Dishes

Bay leaves are meant to cook in red beans for at least an hour in order to distill their essence. One or two whole leaves should be enough, although some cooks use more. Don’t grind bay leaves into powder or cut them into small pieces.

Frozen Leaves Stay Fresh Longer

Don’t store your bay leaves at room temperature if you can help it. Freezing (or at least refrigerating) them will ensure that they retain their flavors for much longer. Some cooks also use fresh bay leaves, particularly when a tree grows nearby, but dried ones should be the go-to choice for red beans and rice, as the flavor is more intense.

A staple of today’s French pantry, the bay leaf also is a frequent component of the classic bouquet garni, along with other herbs such as parsley, thyme, basil, oregano, or whatever a recipe might require.

Use Turkish, Not California, Bay Leaves

The bay leaf most commonly used in cooking today comes from the bay laurel tree (Laurus nobilis), which produces almond-shaped leaves about 1 to 3 inches long. Often called Turkish bay leaves, they are native to the eastern Mediterranean. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the ancient Greek and Romans once used bay leaves from the laurel tree to weave crowns for their Olympic champions and conquering heroes (hence the modern term “Nobel laureate” or “poet laureate”).

Less commonly used in red beans is the leaf of the California-grown Umbellularia californica, which has a more menthol-like, floral taste. The California bay leaf is best for dishes that require strong aromatics, like desserts such as sorbets and mousses.

Bay and Filé: Gifts From American Indians

The bay leaf also has been used as a homeopathic remedy for centuries to ward off illnesses and treat a variety of health conditions. American Indians were known to burn bay leaves to repel insects with the smoke.

In fact, Indians likely gave French and Spanish settlers to Louisiana (as well as African slaves) their first taste of bay leaves, cultivated from a couple of laurel tree varieties native to the Southeastern coastal plains: the Persea borbonia, or red bay, and the Persea palustris, or swamp bay. Leaves from these trees can be substituted for those of the Laurus nobilis.

And the sassafras leaf, another member of the laurel family known to the Indians, is used to make filé powder, a thickening agent in gumbos. Filé has been hailed as among the Native Americans’ greatest culinary gifts to our cultural melting pot, with corn being the foremost. Ground bay leaves are thought to have been used as an occasional substitute for the leaves of the rarer sassafras tree.

Most south Louisianians wouldn’t dream of making a pot of red beans without adding bay leaves. You don’t have to use them, but the end product likely will lack the certain je ne sais quoi that this soulful herb always seems to provide. When it comes to cooking red beans, always bet on the bay.

Check out bean recipes with bay leaves.

Pableaux works the room at the Roosevelt in Richmond, Va. (Photo by Nicole Lang)

Guest blogger Pableaux Johnson is a New Orleans-based food writer and photographer. He spent the summer traveling the country with the Red Beans Roadshow, a pop-up dinner series that brings a bit of New Orleans to restaurants across the U.S.

Looking around my kitchen on a recent Monday night, I got a strange but familiar feeling.

It was time to cook a batch of red beans (my early week go-to), and everything in the kitchen was exactly where I thought it would be. All the pots, cutting boards, knives, and measuring spoons appeared right where I needed them, and the sights, sounds, and smells of the kitchen had something special about them.

Then it hit me: After a couple of solid months traveling with the Red Beans Roadshow, I was feeling the sensation of cooking in my own kitchen for a change.

Long Roads and Big Pots

During most of the summer, I’ve been covering a whole lot of the country cooking red beans, but in LARGE batches in restaurant kitchens. Instead of feeding my usual 10 folks on a Monday, we’d serve anywhere from 40 to a whopping 100-and-change on a North Carolina patio.

I got to work with some amazing chefs and their hard-working crews and see how many different kitchens tick. I worked behind gas burners that could power a medium-size blast furnace. I learned the rhythms of service in San Francisco, Seattle, Chapel Hill, Atlanta, Richmond, Asheville, and New York — and had a great time in the process.

Pableaux working the line with Chef Joe Sparatta at the Roosevelt in Richmond, Va. (Photo by Nicole C.  Lang)

Over the course of two months, we served about 800 folks one of New Orleans’ culinary cornerstones — a simple meal of red beans and rice with hot skillet cornbread — and did the best we could to showcase the everyday wonders of a well-cooked Monday supper. We encouraged folks to pocket their phones, pour a glass of wine, and have a conversation around the table with someone they might not know. We served family-style and encouraged them to get seconds — though they’d have to get up and serve themselves, just like at home.

Serving the vegetarian folks at Town Hall, San Francisco (Photo by Molly Decoudreaux)

From city to city, I enjoyed watching a progression that happened every night. Folks would filter into the bar — quietly at first, then feeling a little more comfortable as they nibbled on deviled eggs or country ham, not really knowing what to expect. They’d mostly sit with strangers, and by the end of the night, the room would be filled with the happy roar.

Happened every time. And as a host — even as a traveling one —  it’s one of the best things you can ask for.

Familiar Feelings, Itchy Heels

So as I go through the motions in my own kitchen — chop onions and peppers, dice my garlic, salt and sweat it all down — I’m remembering how this simple dish can bring people to the table. Not as a fancy dinner party or a special occasion — but as an elemental, edible Louisiana tradition that brings folks together and works a kind of magic in the process.

With the vegetables nice and lazy and the smell of browned sausage coming from the stove, I add the red beans to the pot and tweak my seasonings. And it being MY kitchen, everything is in reach and just where I want it.

Doling out the cornbread at Town Hall, San Francisco (Photo by Molly Decoudreaux)

Tomorrow, I’ll be planning events in other places — there’s Texas in October and a week-long run in New York come November — because once you start feeding people on the road, it turns out that more people want to be fed. (Funny, that …)

But tonight, my beans will come to a boil and I’ll crank down the flame to a slight simmer. I’ll straighten my house (just barely) and hit my rice cooker’s clunky ON button. Mix up a batch of cornbread and crack a beer.

And remember this feeling — this feeling of MY home — when I’m hitting the road and cooking it for others …

(The good folks at Camellia were a crucial partner in the whole process — supporting the project with a much-appreciated sponsorship and logistical help along the way. Many thanks, y’all …)

Pableaux Johnson

If you haven’t gotten on the mason jar meal bandwagon yet, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Well, by following a few simple guidelines outlined below, you can end up with fun, easy, make-ahead meals for on-the-go that save time and money. They also feature great ingredients, include powerful bean protein, and offer you a delicious meal right at your desk – or anywhere else you happen to be.

Sure, making mason jar meals requires some planning and meal prep, but the jars make it fun and different. Mason jars keep all the flavor and freshness locked in, and with the right layering technique, they’ll keep your ingredients from getting soggy. Your average plastic storage container just can’t do that.

Tips for Creating, Building & Enjoying Mason Jar Meals:

1. Prep and cook ingredients that will add healthy bulk to your mason jar meals and keep well in the fridge.
   • Try protein-rich make-ahead beans and lentils.
   • Whip up batches of whole grains like brown rice, pasta, and quinoa.
   • Shred a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
   • Clean and pre-chop vegetables.
2. The key to keeping everything crisp in a mason jar is to add dressing first, in the bottom of the jar. Then, on top of the dressing, add layers of hearty beans, lentils, and vegetables that won’t soak up the dressing. Then, add layers of more delicate items like rice, tomatoes, and lettuce, etc., towards the top.
3. Make a week’s worth of mason jar meals at one time. With all of your pre-made ingredients ready to go, it’s easy to build them all at once. Then just grab one each day as you head out the door.
4. When you’re ready to eat, simply unscrew the mason jar, turn it upside down over a bowl, and pour out. You’ll end up with a healthy, delicious, portion-controlled meal, and the dressing will be right on top, just as it should be.

Three Easy Mason Jar Meal Ideas

Try these great combinations for a variety of flavors, ingredients, and healthy protein.

1. Southwestern-Style Black Bean Salad: Start with a delicious, homemade Avocado Cilantro dressing, and add it to the bottom of a jar. Next, add corn, black or pinto beans, brown rice, sliced grape tomatoes, avocado chunks, and lettuce.
2. Quinoa Lentil Salad: Shake up a bright, lemony dressing right inside a mason jar — made from lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Top dressing with lentils, broccoli florets, chopped green onions, shredded chicken, and quinoa.
3. Spinach, Artichoke & White Bean Salad: Add your favorite Italian dressing to the bottom of a mason jar. Top with navy or great northern beans, chopped artichokes, orzo pasta, chopped tomatoes, and fresh baby spinach.

Now get creative — it’s all about mixing it up!

Comfort food casseroles. Everyone loves them, and they make for easy, one-pot, delicious weeknight dinners — especially when they can be prepped ahead of time and baked or cooked when you’re ready to feed your folks. They’re great time-saving meals for the back-to-school rush and can be quickly re-heated after weekly sports practices and soccer games.

These warm, hearty, casserole recipes are perfect for fall and feature favorite southwestern-style flavors and ingredients like black beans, pinto beans, corn, cilantro, green onions, rice, rotisserie chicken, shrimp, and more. By incorporating beans, we’ve not only upped the flavor factor, we’ve increased the protein and fiber in each dish — a real win-win.

Time-Saving Meal Prep:

Make-Ahead Beans – The key to making these recipes super convenient is to cook batches of  beans in advance, then refrigerate or freeze them in portioned storage bags — so that they’re ready to use when you’re putting together a recipe. You might be tempted to used canned beans, but there are so many advantages to using dried beans, and they’re more convenient than you think! Plus, a 1-pound package of Camellia Brand dried beans is a much better value, yielding about 5-6 cups of cooked beans.

Shrimp and Black Bean Skillet Casserole

The bright, fresh flavors of this simple dish appeal to everyone! The combination of shrimp, lime juice, cilantro, and green onions pairs perfectly with black beans and Jasmine rice, and the recipe works well served hot or at room-temperature. It’s also lean and heart-healthy! Prep your ingredients ahead of time, and the recipe comes together quickly and easily in one large skillet. And if you have any leftovers (it’s so good, you might not), stuff the extra mixture into vine-ripened tomatoes and serve chilled for a lovely lunchtime meal.

Time-Saving Tips: 

1. If possible, buy shrimp that are already peeled. All they need is a quick rinse under running water.
2. Use make-ahead black beans.

Smoked Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

This is a perfect, crowd-pleasing, make-ahead dish that’s hearty, filling, and flavorful. Faster and easier than rolling and stuffing individual enchiladas, this casserole comes together in a 13×9 baking dish by creating layers of a chicken and bean mixture, a sour cream and enchilada sauce mixture, corn tortillas, and cheese. Whether you’ve got a big family to feed, or you’re gearing up for a casual weekend gathering with friends, this is an awesome recipe to put on the menu.

Time-Saving Tips:

1. Buy and shred a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
2. Use make-ahead black and pinto beans.
3. Assemble casserole ahead of time and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking.

Vegetarian Black Bean & Rice Casserole

This colorful, satisfying vegetarian dish is excellent either on its own with a green salad, or as a side dish to grilled meat, chicken, or seafood. Featuring beans, corn, rice, diced green bell pepper, chopped red onion, cream cheese, and various seasonings, it’s a versatile casserole that comes together quickly and also makes a great taco filling. Does your family do taco night? Fill warmed tortillas with the mixture, and let everyone top their own tacos with shredded cabbage or lettuce, salsa, cheese, and sour cream.

Time-Saving Tips:

1. Cook rice ahead of time and refrigerate till ready to use.
2. Use make-ahead black beans.

Fresh Two-Bean Salsa

Wondering what to do with all those leftover beans and vegetables? While this delicious salsa recipe isn’t a casserole, it is a tasty way to use them all up. With both black and pinto beans, corn, vegetables, cilantro, and lime juice, the dish can be thrown together easily. For best results, make it at least 12 hours before serving, allowing the flavors to meld in the refrigerator. Then serve with tortilla chips, as a taco filling, or as a cold or room-temperature topping for grilled fish or chicken.

Red beans and rice is an essential dish of Louisiana cuisine. Folks flock to New Orleans and stand in long lines for a taste of this fantastic vegetarian dish.

Wait, vegetarian?! Yes. Unfortunately, we often forget the famed dish, (and truly any bean dish), can be made meatless and delicious — when using the right spices and seasonings. In addition, the bean is an amazing source of protein, a great iron source, and when served with a grain (think rice), it’s a complete protein.

As a culinary dietitian hailing from Louisiana, I recommend red beans and rice as a healthy dish for all my weight loss clients due to its fiber and protein content (read more about the health benefits of dried beans).

Want to try other kinds of beans but don’t know how to season them? Or maybe you have leftover beans you’re not sure what to do with? How can you add a new spin to a classic bean dish, or re-purpose leftovers into a completely new dish?

No fear! I consulted with my dietitian friends from around the U.S. to find out their favorite ways to spice up beans and lentils. Get inspired with their tips, and hit the kitchen. You just might add their suggestions to your weekly menu rotation, right alongside red beans and rice.

Here are simple tips to spice up plain cooked beans from three incredible dietitians. Linda Bojman, RD, enjoys thyme with her beans, while Amber Pankonin, RD, states, “If I am in a rush, I add a can of diced tomatoes and chiles to cooked black beans. It is delicious!”

Christy Wilson, RD, says, “I love to add fresh lime juice, cumin, paprika, canned or fresh tomatoes, and pepper to black beans for a quick weeknight supper.”

Can’t get enough black beans? Amy Gorin, MS, RDN, offers this: “I love adding garlic or onion powder to black beans while they’re cooking. The powder packs in a lot of flavor, and then I mix the beans with onions and bell peppers sautéed in low-sodium vegetable broth.”

Are lentils more your style? “Lentils pair well with Indian spices such as cumin, turmeric, and mustard seeds,” claims Sharon Palmer, RD. She also loves red beans. “My family loves a hearty chili featuring red beans and chili powder, tomato sauce, a bit of brown sugar, and vinegar.”

Elizabeth Ann Shaw, MS, RDN, CLT, says, “My husband hands-down loves my red lentils with habaneros, tomatoes, and red onion. We enjoy spicy foods, so anytime I use hot peppers and infuse them into beans and lentils, we both are satisfied! Bonus – he’ll even forget the ground meat and top his nachos with an extra helping of lentils!”

Looking for more of a Colombian style dish? Ximena Jimenez, RD, gives this tip. “In Colombia, we prepare beans with a tomato and onion sauce, called guiso, similar to sofrito. We add onions, tomatoes, scallions, finely chopped aji dulces, chopped cilantro, salt, ground black pepper, minced garlic cloves, and Worcestershire sauce.’

For a Puerto Rican style dish, take the suggestion of Betsy Ramirez, RD. “We add Sazon and sofrito to our beans. You can easily find it in the Latin section of the grocery store.”

Christy Wilson gives us a final tip for using leftover pinto beans. “I simply mash leftover cooked pinto beans with a little milk and spread on tortillas. It’s amazing!”

Do you have a favorite tip? Tell us, how do you spice up or repurpose your beans, lentils or peas?

Our friend Shelly Marie Redmond, MS, RD, LDN, is a culinary dietitian and founder of Skinny Louisiana.  Be sure to friend her on Facebook at Skinny Louisiana. For questions, email Shelly at shelly at skinnylouisiana.com. She goes for the classic red beans and rice!

The Perfect Dish

Hummus is hands down the perfect dish to enjoy during the heat of the summer — when you’re craving something cool, creamy and delicious. It’s also incredibly versatile. Sure, you can serve it as a dip with pita, crackers and fresh veggies, but it’s also wonderful in a wrap or on a sandwich, dolloped on a salad, spread on a flatbread pizza, or tossed with hot pasta. And homemade hummus tastes so much better than store-bought. Once you realize how easy it is to whip up hummus from scratch, you’ll never go back. Read on for winning tips on how to make it great.

Insider Tips for Smooth & Silky Hummus

Tip #1: Soaking

Using dried garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas) to make hummus is key. (The canned variety just won’t give you the same great flavor.) But be sure to soak your dried garbanzos overnight first. They’re tougher than other beans and take longer to soften; soaking will give you a head start and shorten cooking time.

Tip #2: Baking Soda

Once you’ve got your soaked garbanzo beans covered with fresh water and simmering in a pot on the stove, add in a bit of baking soda. Baking soda works to tenderize both the skin and the bean, helping you achieve a silkier hummus texture.

Tip #3: Cook, Cook, and Cook Some More

Chefs who know their hummus swear by cooking the garbanzos until they’re practically falling apart. So, don’t cut your cooking time short. If you’ve soaked them first, simmering till very soft should take about 1-1.5 hours.

Tip #4: Heat Helps

The best time to make your hummus is when the garbanzos have just finished cooking and are still hot. This helps with extra creaminess, as well.

Tip #5: Cooking Liquid = Liquid Gold

Before draining, reserve the garbanzo bean cooking liquid (also called aquafaba). You’ll want to use it when blending the hummus (more flavorful than adding water). And it makes as an amazingly healthy vegan alternative to dairy and eggs.

Flavor Possibilities

Now that you’re ready to get cookin’, it’s time to consider all the flavor possibilities. Purists might want to stick with our traditional Hummus recipe. But if you’re willing to experiment, we’ve come up with amazing twists on our classic recipe that add color, flavor, health benefits, and fun – all with just a few additional ingredients.

Traditional Hummus

Whether you’re making hummus for the 1st time or the 50th, this foolproof recipe will become a hands-down favorite. With just the right proportions of olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, and garlic, the texture is right on (if you follow the tips above), and the flavor is fresh and deliciously balanced. And because the recipe calls for a pound of garbanzo beans, it yields about 6 cups of hummus. Which means there’s plenty to use in the recipe variations spelled out below, or simply plenty to snack on all week long. Note: the recipe doesn’t call for refrigerating the hummus before serving, but a lot of folks like it served cool vs. warm. Your call.

Avocado Cilantro Hummus

For a gorgeous green tint, even more fresh flavor, and additional heart-healthy fat, fiber, and potassium, try adding 1 ripe avocado, 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, and 1/2 lime, juiced to 2 cups prepared hummus. Whip it up in a food processor, and voilá — you’ve got a yummy new take on a classic. For a fast snack or lunch, warm a whole wheat tortilla, spread with Avocado Cilantro Hummus, top with fresh baby spinach and shredded carrots, roll up, and enjoy.

Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus

This beautifully-tinted orange version comes together with 2 small, baked sweet potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and a few shakes of Tabasco brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce (or chipotle powder). Add all to 2 cups prepared hummus and whir till blended. Adjust seasonings to your taste, and try spreading Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus on a turkey sandwich or scooping it up with tortilla chips.

Balsamic Caramelized Onion Hummus

While Balsamic Caramelized Onion Hummus is slightly more involved, the result is totally worth it. Thinly sliced onions are slowly cooked down in olive oil, along with 1 teaspoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, until caramelized. Then a balsamic reduction is made by simmering 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar until it’s thick and syrupy. The caramelized onions are blended in a food processor, along with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar and 2 cups prepared hummus. For a beautiful presentation and amazing flavor, serve Balsamic Caramelized Onion Hummus topped with extra caramelized onions and a drizzle of balsamic reduction — surrounded by fancy crackers and crudités. A fabulous way to entertain friends and family!

Welcome to the Red Bean Roadshow

It all started with a simple ritual that many Louisiana people take for granted — a simple meal of red beans and rice served to a table full of friends. A once-weekly chance to gather a group at the house to eat, drink and talk things out.

In New Orleans, traditionalists serve red kidney beans on Mondays, so when I was looking for a centerpiece for a weekly feast, the choice seemed pretty obvious. Since I’d inherited my grandmother’s oversized kitchen table, I’d hone my large-format cooking skills and invite 10 friends over for dinner.

Simplicity was (and is) key. From the menu (my red beans, my grandfather’s skillet cornbread) to the house rules (bring whatchawannadrink, no phones at the table, whiskey for dessert) to the structure (a loose 7:30 on Monday night, different crowd every week). Make everything simple enough and after 15 years, you’ve got a solid ritual.

Over the years, traveling friends asked if I’d come to do red beans in their town, and after a few trial runs, the Red Beans Road Show was born.

Pableaux Johnson of New Orleans Serving Red Beans

Now, we’re going to be taking this table and ritual to a string of cities throughout the US, bringing the love of table, conversation and good food to far-flung friends and family. We’ll bring you along on the road as we work with amazing chefs—friends kind enough to open their restaurants for a night of fun— and other folks at family tables.

It’s a chance to take New Orleans to the far corners of the country and bring a spirit of the Louisiana table to the road.

We’ll be keeping track of the story and hope you’ll come along and enjoy it with us.

See you soon at the table…

Pableaux Johnson

When you’re in the grocery store aisle, gazing at the shelves, you’ve probably wondered — does it really matter whether I choose dried beans or canned? And what’s the difference, anyhow?

Well, here’s the scoop — broken down by cost & yield, taste, convenience, and more — so you can make an informed decision.

Cost & Yield

When it comes to value, dried beans still come out on top.

A 15-oz can of beans typically costs $1.20–$1.50, depending on brand and retailer, and yields about 1½–1¾ cups of drained beans, according to the Bean Institute.

By comparison, a 1-lb bag of dried beans averages about $1.50–$1.75 nationally according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics / FRED and yields 5–6 cups of cooked beans — roughly 10–12 servings (½ cup cooked = 1 serving, per the USDA Dietary Guidelines). That works out to roughly 15–25¢ per serving.

For premium, higher-quality brands like Camellia, which are stocked at major grocers, retail prices typically range from $2.20 to $2.80 per pound. Even at that premium, a pound of Camellia beans delivers about twice the yield per dollar compared to canned beans, along with the freshness, consistency, and flavor that make them a Southern kitchen staple.

Read more about how beans stretch your grocery budget in our Budget Meals with Beans: Affordable Comfort Food for Every Table post.

The Sodium Factor

Using dried beans lets you control the sodium. Beans are naturally sodium-free, but canned beans can contain added salt — for example, around 200 mg per ½-cup serving for canned pinto beans. Draining helps, and draining plus rinsing can remove up to about 40% of the sodium. Cooking dried beans from scratch lets you season to taste without added sodium, giving you full control over what’s in your pot. (The Bean Institute – Dry vs. Canned)

What about BPA?

Dried beans are BPA-free. You’ve probably heard or read about the controversial use of BPA in food containers. Most cans are lined with BPA-containing resin, and according to the Mayo Clinic, some research has shown that BPA can seep into food from containers that are made with it. Read more about their advice for reducing exposure to BPA, including cutting back on the use of canned foods. Using dried beans vs. canned lets you avoid the this issue altogether.

Taste

Cooked, dried beans just taste better. While there’s no scientific evidence to point to, it’s been written again and again that those who know their way around a kitchen prefer the taste, texture, and depth of flavor of homemade beans. In fact, canned beans can have a metallic taste, or they can be too salty or mushy. Cooking with dried beans lets you season them to to your taste and control how long you cook them — making sure they’re just as firm or as soft as you like.

Convenience

Dried beans are easier to cook than you think. At first glance, you might think that canned beans win in the convenience category. And if you’re in a pinch and haven’t planned ahead, canned beans can do the job. But if you want the health, price, and taste benefits of using dried beans, there are several ways to make them both easy and convenient. First, if you’re home but busy doing other things, cover them with water in a pot, add aromatics and seasonings, and put on a back burner to simmer for a couple of hours. They don’t need much attention! If you can’t be home to cook, consider throwing dried beans in a slow cooker with water, chopped veggies, and meats, and cook on low heat all day long. They’ll be soft and creamy just in time for dinner. There’s also the option of using a pressure cooker — which is a great way to cook dried beans in a hurry. And finally, the best way to wean yourself from the last-minute-canned-bean-habit is to cook dried beans in large batches, portion into small storage bags, and freeze. Then, when you need beans for a recipe, just grab them from the freezer instead of reaching for a can. Read more about cooking methods and storage here.

The post Dry Beans vs. Canned: What’s the Difference? first appeared on Camellia Brand.]]> https://www.camelliabrand.com/dry-beans-vs-canned-whats-the-difference/feed/ 0 https://www.camelliabrand.com/5-reasons-to-add-dried-beans-to-your-diet/ https://www.camelliabrand.com/5-reasons-to-add-dried-beans-to-your-diet/#respond Tue, 14 Jun 2016 16:17:05 +0000 http://www.camelliabrand.com/?p=29013 From traditional red beans and rice to white beans with shrimp to blackeye peas, beans embody the spirit of New read more ...

From traditional red beans and rice to white beans with shrimp to blackeye peas, beans embody the spirit of New Orleans. But dried beans, peas and lentils also have amazing health benefits that last long after that last delicious bite.

As a culinary dietitian, I recommend this remarkable, affordable food group to all my clients for the following five reasons:

1. Beans act as a body’s best friend

Just as you’re personally supported by friends and family, beans support your body by preventing many disorders and diseases. In other words, beans protect you from aging — and who doesn’t want that?

As a result, many medical associations encourage consumption of beans due to their high amounts of fiber, iron, protein and various nutrients that work to protect you from free radicals or aging. How do beans prevent aging? Just as an uneaten apple slice browns, free radicals allow your body to ‘oxidize’ or brown, similar to the apple. Beans help prevent your body from that kind of ‘browning’.

Organizations including the American Heart Association and American Cancer Society encourage bean consumption, and in 2016, the United Nations declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (pulses include dry peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas). So eat up.

2. Beans are cancer fighters

Many of us know a family member, friend or loved one who has been diagnosed with cancer. In its latest startling findings, the National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2016, over 1.6 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Fight cancer by adding dried beans, peas and lentils to your diet.

How is the bean such a cancer fighter? Beans contain both high amounts of fiber and folate.  Fiber allows the passage of waste through the gut and colon, while folate encourages healthy cell division. In particular, black beans contain large levels of anthocyanins giving the bean its super antioxidant power. The Adventist Health Study revealed those consuming legumes (beans, peas, lentils, etc.) more than twice a week were 47% less likely to develop colon cancer than those who consumed legumes only once a week.

3. Beans help stabilize blood sugar levels

The American Diabetes Association reported in 2012 that 9.3% of the population was diabetic. As a dietitian, I always recommend beans to my clients for blood sugar control.

Remember how the fiber in beans is an amazing cancer fighter? That fiber also helps with slowing down the absorption of glucose in your gut, thus helping to manage type 2 diabetes. This keeps both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia at bay.

4. Beans help lower cholesterol

The American Heart Association reports 43% of Americans have a cholesterol reading over 200 and recommend a high-fiber diet to help with lowering cholesterol.

Why? Soluble fiber helps block cholesterol in the gut from going into the bloodstream. The big blocker? Legumes! A study following 16,000 men showed that higher legume consumption was associated with an 82% reduction of coronary heart disease.

5. Beans promote weight loss

How can adding beans to your diet lead to weight loss? The common denominator is fiber. In addition to its cancer-fighting, blood sugar-controlling, cholesterol-lowering properties, fiber keeps you fuller longer — allowing you to eat less. Remember, fiber takes a longer time to digest, thus keeping you full and helping prevent overeating. The magic fiber gram number? We shoot for our clients to get 35 grams of fiber or more per day.

 

 

Our friend Shelly Marie Redmond, MS, RD, LDN is a culinary dietitian and founder of Skinny Louisiana. She practices in Shreveport, LA and can be reached at shelly@skinnylouisiana.com.

The post 5 Reasons to Add Dried Beans to Your Diet first appeared on Camellia Brand.]]>

BBQ baked beans are an essential side dish at the best summer backyard barbecues. Here, you’ll find 6 stand-out, homemade versions that’ll round out any menu and make you ditch any notion of going the canned route. Plus, you get way more bang for you buck using dried beans vs. canned. Featuring a variety of beans, these easy-to-make, pinnable recipes go for deep, distinctive flavor – whether smoky, tangy, slightly sweet, or spicy – and are perfectly seasoned to bring out the best in grilled, smoked, or slow-cooked meats. And a couple are made in the slow cooker, so you can’t get any easier than that. Add one to your line up or bring it to a potluck — along with this incredible Buttermilk Cornbread recipe that complements them all — and guests will keep coming back for more.

Slow Cooker Bourbon Maple BBQ Beans

The key ingredients in this delicious vegetarian recipe are Camellia Brand Great Northern Beans (you can also use Navy Beans or Pintos), bourbon, molasses, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, mustard powder, ketchup, dark brown sugar, and barbecue rub. And because it’s made in a slow cooker, it’s simple to throw together. The bourbon gives the dish richness, maple syrup and brown sugar give it sweetness, and even though it takes 10 hours to cook, it’s totally worth the wait. So set it, and forget it! Just be sure to sauté the veggies before adding them to the slow cooker. (You can skip this step if you must, but the deep flavor won’t be the same). Pair the finished dish with savory mains like barbecue chicken and ribs.

Slow Cooker Charro Beans

Flavored with bacon, garlic, tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, spices and a bottle of amber beer, frijoles charros (cowboy beans) made with Camellia Brand Pinto Beans are served warm and soupy. A traditional dish named for Mexican horsemen, or charros, this recipe is an amazing accompaniment to pulled pork sandwiches with crunchy coleslaw. Smoky and tangy, it’s a cinch to make because the slow cooker does all the work, and it’s a fantastic way to feed a crowd.

Chipotle Baked Beans

Featuring Camellia Navy (Pea) Beans, bacon, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, red onion, dark brown sugar, ketchup and mustard, this smoky dish comes together quickly. Cook the navy beans ahead of time and refrigerate (a day or two ahead is fine), then when you’re ready, mix all the ingredients together, pour into a casserole dish, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling. So fast and easy, the dish goes great with hot dogs, brats, and more.

Cowboy Beans & Rice

This effortless, hearty casserole — when paired with our Buttermilk Cornbread — can be a meal all by itself, or you can serve it along side your other backyard BBQ favorites. Simply cook ground beef, chopped onion, and chopped green bell pepper together on the stovetop, and then combine in a baking dish with rice, seasonings, water, cooked Camellia Brand Pinto Beans, tomato juice, and green chiles. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, and enjoy!

Colonel Vincent’s Southern-Style Baked Beans

In this super tasty baked bean dish, Camellia Brand Navy (Pea) Beans are slowly simmered with a hambone, onion, bell pepper, and seasonings until tender. Then the hambone is removed, and the beans get spiked with ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar, and layered in a casserole dish with strips of bacon. Baked for 1 1/2 – 2 hours in a 350 degree oven, they come out both sweet and savory. Made the true southern way – low and slow!

Elizabeth’s Perfectly Pink BBQ Beans

Talk about a rich, delicious recipe with a kick! This dish features Camellia Brand Pink Beans (similar to Pintos, but smaller and rounder), salt pork or ham hock, chili powder, dry mustard, sugar, molasses and onion. Simmered to perfection and lip-smacking good, these BBQ beans offer big flavor and pair well with everything from ribs to burgers. An old family recipe of Elizabeth Hayward’s (a matriarch of the Hayward family), it has been enjoyed at family get-togethers for generations.

Buttermilk Cornbread

What would BBQ baked beans be without sweet cornbread to sop up the goodness? That’s why you need this Buttermilk Cornbread recipe baked in what else, but a cast iron skillet, of course. Taking a few extra moments to brown the butter gives the recipe depth, and the end result is delightful for breakfast and as the perfect complement to your baked beans. Like it sweeter? Add a bit more maple, honey, or agave to suit your palate.

Your summer backyard barbecues are about to get a whole lot tastier!

Chickpeas, the Ancient Beans Used ‘Round the World

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzos, are ancient beans. Remains have been found in the Middle East that date back more than seven millennia. The ancient world associated them with Venus, the Roman goddess of love, and they were thought to help with reproductive difficulties. More recently, in the 18th century, they were roasted as a coffee substitute. Most people today know them as the main ingredient in hummus, the Middle Eastern bean paste that takes its name from the Arabic word for chickpea.

Chickpeas are known as channa in Trinidad and are a constant in Trinidadian food. Fried and seasoned with a variety of spices, channa is a street snack that’s perfect for munching any time but seems to go particularly well with cocktails. Chickpeas appear in many types of soups and stews, but are at their best when served in a dish like Caribbean-style chickpea and potato curry that’s also known as channa aloo.

The History of Curries

In the Caribbean region, curries have their origin in the waves of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent who arrived in the 19th century. In New Orleans and the United States, they are traditional as well, dating back to the days of the clipper ships when captains brought exotic spices back from their journeys that transformed traditional dishes into savory delights.  This curry displays the thriftiness of many housewives in both areas, uses potatoes to complete the dish and places the history of three continents squarely on the plate.

Caribbean-Style Chickpea Curry

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

3 tablespoons Madras-style curry powder

1/2 cup Steen’s cane vinegar (or distilled white vinegar)

1 1/2 cups Camellia Brand Garbanzo Beans, soaked overnight (3 cups, plumped)

3 cups coarsely chopped potatoes

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan, heat the butter and sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger until the onion is soft but not brown. Add the curry powder and the crushed red pepper, stirring so that they do not stick or burn. Gradually add the vinegar and stir until you have a smooth paste. (You may have to add more.)

2. Add the soaked chickpeas and the potatoes; stir well to cover them with the paste. Remove from heat and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.

3. When ready to cook, place the chickpea and potato mixture into a large frying pan or in the bottom of a Dutch oven, and add enough water to reconstitute the paste and prevent scorching. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours or until the chickpeas and potatoes are fork tender. Check occasionally and add more water if necessary to prevent scorching.

4. Serve hot with mango chutney, raisins, freshly grated coconut or with the Indian bread known as roti.

Written by Jessica B. Harris, a culinary historian, journalist and acclaimed cookbook author who has been honored for spreading the word of African and Caribbean cuisines around the world.

The History of Blackeye Peas

On the African continent where these legumes were first domesticated, blackeye peas were planted on the borders of fields to help keep down the weeds. They were also used to enrich the soil. Cattle grazed on the stems and vines, giving rise to some of the legume’s alternate names: cowpeas and field peas.

A Southern Staple

In the United States, few foods are more connected with African Americans than blackeye peas. Before the early 1700s, they were growing in the Carolina colonies, became one of the area’s first cash crops, and were exported to the Caribbean colonies where they were also prized. In the United States, they appear in early cookbooks like The Virginia Housewife, in which Mary Randolph suggests making a fried bean cake that is garnished with “thin bits of fried bacon.” Today, they come into their own at the holiday season when no self-respecting southerner will go without a dish of blackeye peas for luck on New Year’s Day.

Fritter Heaven

In the Caribbean, they turn up in a myriad of beans and rice combinations but take a back seat to the Congo or gunga pea there. They come back into their own in Brazil. There, in the northeast region, the pea is transformed into a fritter known as an acarajé, which is the traditional street food of Salvador da Bahia. The fritters are made to order and dressed with a selection of fish pastes and hot sauces to the buyer’s taste. No trip to the city is complete without the taste of at least one. The following recipe is for non-traditional fritters that use ginger and garlic and that don’t call for skinning the beans. One bite, though, and you can almost feel the sea breezes blowing off the harbor.

Brazilian-Style Blackeye Pea Fritters

Ingredients:

1 (1-pound) package Camellia Brand Blackeye Peas
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 teaspoons ginger paste*
2 teaspoons garlic paste*
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

*Both ginger and garlic paste are readily available in supermarkets, usually found in the fresh produce/herbs section.

Directions:

1. Soak blackeye peas 8-10 hours or overnight.

2. When ready to prepare, place soaked blackeye peas in a food processor with remaining ingredients. Process until a smooth, thick batter forms, with no lumps. Add salt to taste. Empty batter from food processor into a large bowl, and aerate it by beating for 2-3 minutes with a wooden spoon.

3. In a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven, heat at least 2 inches of oil for frying. When ready to fry, stir the batter again, and drop by large spoonsful into the hot oil. Allow to brown, turning each fritter once. Continue to stir remaining batter to aerate it before frying.

4. Drain fritters on absorbent paper, and serve hot with hot sauce, salsa or condiment of your choice.

Makes about two dozen fritters.

Written by Jessica B. Harris, a culinary historian, journalist and acclaimed cookbook author who has been honored for spreading the word of African and Caribbean cuisines around the world.

Maybe you’re a seasoned cook with a little too much on your plate right now. Or you’re new-ish to New Orleans classics and need some gentle guidance. Either way, there’s a time and a place for simpler (yet still delicious) red beans and rice. And it calls for Camellia Red Bean Flavor Infusion — a tried-and-true blend of authentic Creole spices and vegetables you can use to season a pot of Camellia Red Kidney Beans to perfection.

Camellia Red Bean Flavor Infusion is all natural, gluten free, and easy to use. It has the key spices and vegetables you need to make the best red beans, with the kind of nuanced, savory, foolproof flavor that tastes like you’ve been adding a little of this and a little of that to the pot all day long.

There’s a three-step recipe right on the box; all you do is add a 1-lb. bag of Camellia Red Kidney Beans, water, the Red Bean Flavor Infusion, and simmer on the stove. It’s worth noting that the recipe is so versatile, you can add smoked sausage, andouille sausage, or ham when you add the seasoning — or, keep it vegan. And if you like extra veggie flavor, feel free to sauté and add the trinity, as well. The point is that the recipe can be very straight-ahead and simple — just the beans, the seasoning, and water — or, you can add whatever else you like to achieve your perfect pot of red beans.

For creamy, tasty homemade red beans:

1) In a heavy pot, add 1 lb. Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and sorted, plus 8-10 cups of water.
2) Bring beans to a boil for 10 minutes.
3) Stir in Red Bean Flavor Infusion, reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 1 ½ hours — or until beans are tender.

Creole Red Beans: Step-by-Step

First up. Rinse and sort the beans, and add them to a heavy pot with 8-10 cups of water. (Want to sauté some trinity and add that, as well? Go right ahead.) Bring the beans to a boil on the stovetop for 10 minutes.

Then, stir in the Creole Red Bean Seasoning, reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally. (Adding all the seasoning at this point won’t keep the beans from getting soft, we promise! Read more about that myth.)

By the way, this would also good time to add sautéed smoked sausage, andouille sausage, or ham — if you like your red beans meaty.

As your beans slowly simmer for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, lift the cover, and stir occasionally. If you like them creamier, use the back of a spoon to mash some of the beans against the inside of the pot.

Once your red beans are nice and soft, serve with hot cooked rice alongside some cornbread or French bread. Sprinkle with chopped green onions, offer up some hot sauce, and delight in the fact that this time, you took an easier route — but just as delicious — to a tried and true favorite.

Many cooks say dried beans should always be soaked, because soaking makes beans cook faster and reduces their gas-producing properties. It’s true that if you don’t soak, your cooking time might increase slightly – but by how much really depends on the bean type; sometimes it’s just a matter of 15 minutes, sometimes it’s longer. A long, low simmer will soften any kind of bean, given enough time.

More recently, others have found through their own tests that not soaking beans is perfectly acceptable and can even help beans retain more of their flavor. In fact, those same testers debunked the often-cited claim that soaking and draining beans reduces flatulence. (It seems that that issue actually has more to do with how regularly you eat beans and other high-fiber foods). Add to that the fact that Harold McGee, in his book On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, says that soaking beans leaches out vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and you might want to kick the soaking habit.

In the end, if you’re soaking because you think it makes beans softer, know that bean tenderness or toughness actually depends less on soaking and more on the type of beans, the quality of the beans, and how long they’ve been sitting on your pantry shelf (if it’s been longer than a year, whether you soak or not, they’ll probably come out tough).

Still want to soak? Here’s the lowdown:

• Soaking dried beans is helpful in reducing cooking time, but if you have the time for a longer simmer, soaking isn’t necessary.
• Lentils, split peas and blackeye peas don’t need to be soaked. Simply put, they’re smaller, softer legumes and cook much faster.
• If you intended to soak and then forgot, try a 1-hour quick-soak. Or simply forgo it, and you might need to cook the beans a little longer before they’re soft.
• Here are four different ways you can soak beans – from a 1-hour quick soak to an overnight soak.

Salting

Another common belief among cooks is that dried beans shouldn’t be salted until the end of cooking, because they believe salting at the beginning toughens the beans, increasing their cooking time. But this long-held belief may have turned out to be an old wives’ tale. Many food experts in recent years have debunked the myth, salting their beans at the beginning of cooking and ending up with flavorful, tender beans.

Remember, toughness most often depends on the quality of the bean and how long it’s been sitting on your pantry shelf. Also, if you’re using a simple recipe like our Easy Make-Ahead Pinto Beans, we’ve found that salting at the beginning of cooking creates a flavorful result and doesn’t increase cooking time. But if you’re using recipes that rely on seasoning meats for flavor (seasoning meats can be pretty salty), we say it’s best to wait till the beans are finished cooking before tasting and adding salt. You might just find that no additional salt is needed.

In terms of which ingredients you add and when, it is worth noting that acidic ingredients such as tomato sauce, wine, lemon juice or vinegar can prevent bean softening because acids act on the starch within bean cells, preventing them from swelling. So don’t add them until your beans are tender.

Nothing says “New Orleans” more than red beans and rice on a Monday, but add grand marshal Al “Carnival Time” Johnson plus the Treme Brass Band, combined with more than 100 revelers dressed to the nines in colorful tributes to Louis Armstrong’s favorite dish, and you’ve got a recipe that can’t be topped.

Speaking of the legendary jazz trumpeter, Pops was well-represented as always by the Beanmobile, the tricked-out Volkswagen etched with both his likeness and his famous personal recipe. Starting out at Port and Royal streets to the spicy sounds of a mariachi band, founder Devin Meyers’ krewe of self-proclaimed “beaners” dazzled delighted bystanders on a leisurely route that included stops at Buffa’s Lounge on Esplanade Avenue as well as the Candle Light on North Robertson.

Signaling their presence with cries of “Beans a-comin’!” the gang and its bean-festooned regalia paid tasty tribute to New Orleans’ second-line tradition as well as the Mardi Gras Indians before disbanding outside the Backstreet Cultural Museum in the shadow of the iconic St. Augustine Catholic Church. Did you miss ’em this year? Don’t worry: You’ll have your chance on Lundi Gras 2017.

If you haven’t tried your hand at cooking different kinds of dried beans because you were a little iffy on how to do it correctly, you’ll be happy to know that it’s easier than you think. Other than the fact that it takes a little bit of time, there’s nothing difficult or tricky about it, and cooking dried beans doesn’t require extensive cooking skills. In fact, it’s pretty hard to get it wrong. As long as the beans stay submerged in water or broth while cooking, and you can keep a pot simmering on the stove for an hour or two (or in a slow cooker), you’re doing great. Read on for all the details; we’re going to show you how simple it actually is.

Rinsing & Sorting

Rinsing and sorting beans is the initial step in cooking dried beans. This simply involves rinsing your beans, peas or lentils in a colander or strainer to get rid of field dust and dirt, and then sorting – moving them around with your hands to remove any stray pebbles, twigs or imperfect beans. Here at Camellia, we have an extensive cleaning process before we package our beans, so it’s a rare occurrence that you’ll find anything like that – but still, rinse and sort. It only takes a minute or two.

Soaking

Many say dried beans should always be soaked, because soaking makes beans cook faster and reduces their gas-producing properties.  It’s true that if you soak your beans, your cooking time will decrease slightly — but by how much really depends on the bean type; sometimes it’s just a matter of cutting 15 minutes off, sometimes it’s more. What’s important to know is that a long, low simmer will soften any kind of bean, given enough time.

Basic Soaking Tips:

• Here are three different ways you can soak beans – from a 1-hour quick soak to an overnight soak.
• If you have the time for a longer simmer, then soaking isn’t necessary.
• Lentils, split peas and blackeye peas don’t need to be soaked. Simply put, they’re smaller, softer legumes and cook much faster.

Read more about the pros, cons, myths and more related to soaking.

Salting

Many say dried beans shouldn’t be salted at the beginning of cooking because it toughens their skins and increases cooking time. But a growing number of people disagree and say salting early on or anytime during the cooking process is fine. Learn more about the pros, cons, myths and more related to salting.

It’s worth noting that if you’re using a recipe relying on seasoning meats for flavor (seasoning meats can be pretty salty), it’s best to wait till the beans are finished cooking before tasting and adding more salt. You might just find that none is needed.

Cooking

If you’re looking to cook beans to use in other recipes, it’s a simple process. After rinsing (and, if you choose, soaking) beans, add to a stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender. Salt the beans if you like, and add more water as necessary, in order to keep the beans submerged. Depending on the type of bean, cooking time will vary. Try these simple recipes for cooking beans ahead of time to use in other recipes: Easy Make-Ahead Black Beans and Easy Make-Ahead Pinto Beans.

If you want to cook a pot of beans that’s seasoned to perfection and makes a great meal all on its own, check out our easy-to-follow, delicious recipes – each one details the beans, veggies, seasonings, cooking process and more needed. If you’re just starting out, simple recipes like LH’s Savory Lentils, Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice, and Marjorie’s Marvelous Large Lima Beans are great ways to get comfortable cooking beans. And another easy way to try your hand at cooking different bean types is with our line of Dinner & Soup Mixes. With each one, you just add a few fresh ingredients, and simmer on the stove or in your slow cooker. The mixes include seasoning packs, and the recipes are right on the bags.

If you’re an avid user of dried beans and are interested in experimenting, you can learn more about how to tweak the basic components of any dried bean recipe. You might be interested in trying different seasoning meats to add depth and flavor during the cooking process – such as with andouille, hambones, ham hocks, or pickled pork. For more variation, you might also try different herbs and spices, various types of flavorful fats, or a new combination of aromatic vegetables. Here are some secrets to great-tasting vegetarian beans. Have at it and get creative. It bears repeating that you can’t really screw up a pot of beans. The more you cook, and the more you try different cooking and flavoring techniques, you’ll discover what you like best and either keep doing it, or tweak it. Want to know the secret ingredients to Camellia fans’ red beans and rice? We’ve got that, too.

Cooking Methods

And finally, know that all cooking methods at your disposal are fair game and will result in wonderfully flavorful, tender beans.

Stovetop

Some people prefer cooking on a stovetop at a slow simmer. With stovetop cooking, you need a large, heavy pot; a heavy-bottomed pot keeps beans from burning and reduces the need for regular stirring. You also need to be able to keep an eye on your slowly simmering pot of beans, and that can make it a little more time-consuming; however, stovetop cooking gives you the flexibility of adding aromatic veggies, seasoning meat and spices in stages, stirring every so often, mashing beans to create creaminess, and tasting and adjusting seasoning as you go. If you don’t have the time to do that on weekdays, Sunday afternoons are great for slow-simmering stovetop recipes – and are excellent for achieving deep flavors and a creamy texture.

Slow Cooker

Some love the total ease and convenience of slow cooker recipes. A slow cooker gives you the freedom to be able to throw all the ingredients in, set the timer, and go about your day. It can be a big time-saver for busy families who want to come home to a warm dinner ready to be served, and even though some slow cooker recipes require a little upfront prep, they’re mostly hands-off. While slow cookers don’t allow for the nuances of tasting and adjusting seasoning during the cooking process (they need to stay covered with their lids on for even, thorough cooking), you can always adjust seasonings and mash beans for creaminess when the cooking time is over.

Pressure Cooker

And finally, there’s the pure speed of a pressure cooker. If you prefer to make dinner in 30 minutes or less, the intense heat and pressure of a pressure cooker is the way to go with dried beans. They’ll still come out tender and flavorful and allow you to drastically reduce your cooking time. Pressure cookers have been around for decades, but modern technology makes them faster and safer than ever before. Get some tips and tricks on how to use a pressure cooker to safely cook beans. If you already own and use a pressure cooker regularly, try it out for cooking beans. If you don’t own one but think you’d use it often, then it might just be worth the investment of this additional appliance. Check out our pressure cooker recipes here.

Storing

Cooked beans will keep up to a week in the fridge and even become more flavorful a day or two after cooking. So if you’ve got leftovers from a delicious one-pot dinner, either freeze for a future meal, or stick them in the fridge and pack a lunch for school or the office later in the week. Or, if you’ve cooked a simple pot of beans ahead of time to use in other recipes, portion them into small storage bags, lay them flat on their side and stack to store in the freezer. Then, when you need beans for a recipe, just grab them from the freezer instead of reaching for a can.

Inexpensive and a great source of protein and fiber, dried beans are one of the world’s perfect foods and are just waiting for you to get cooking.

Though sometimes associated with ‘70s-era “commune cooking” – big pots of bland brown stews – in reality, lentils are quick-cooking, protein-packed powerhouses with an earthy flavor that lends itself to all kinds of cuisines and seasonings. Add in the fact that they are inexpensive and can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 12 months, and it’s easy to see why lentils should be a staple in your pantry.

Available in a variety of colors ranging from yellow to red-orange, green, brown, and black, lentils have been a principal ingredient in world cuisines, primarily Near-Eastern and European, since prehistoric times. Archaeologists suspect they may have been the world’s first cultivated crop as early as 13,000 years ago and together with wheat and barley, drought-tolerant lentils were the agricultural staples of early Greek and Roman cultures. They vary in size and are sold in many forms, with or without the skins, whole or split. They belong to a variety of legume known as a “pulse” – or edible seed – and are both extremely nutritious and quick to prepare.

A Crop Prized in Many Cuisines

Lentils were introduced to the New World by Spanish and Portuguese explorers as early as the 16th century, but did not really catch on in America until the 20th century when they were promoted during World War II as an alternative to meat because of their high protein content – the second-highest ratio of protein per calories of any legume, after soybeans – and low cost. They are also loaded with potassium, folate, and dietary fiber. Like with other legumes, lentils and rice are a common food pairing, and provide a complete protein.

Today, about a quarter of the world’s lentils come from India, where more lentils are consumed than any other place. Indian “dals” are simple lentil dishes – dal means lentil in the language – and curries are lentil dishes seasoned with a “curry powder” mix or various seasonings, including coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, chili pepper, clove, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, paprika, and black pepper. Interestingly, though it’s far from the regions commonly associated with lentil-based cuisines, Canada is the largest export producer of lentils in the world. In Jewish mourning tradition, lentils are customary as food for the bereaved, together with boiled eggs, because their round shape symbolizes the life cycle from birth to death. Lentils and sausage are also eaten together on New Year’s Day in both Italy and Hungary, where the lentil’s coin shape is regarded as a symbol of prosperity.

How to Cook Lentils

Dried lentils don’t need to be soaked before being cooked, and only require a cooking time of 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the variety and use. Lentils with the husk remain whole with moderate cooking. Small lentils without the the husk cook very quickly and break down into a thick stew.

• Dried lentils generally require 3 cups of liquid per cup of lentils.
• If you bring the liquid to a boil before adding lentils, they will both cook more quickly and be easier to digest.
• If using lentils in a salad or soup where a firmer texture is desired, subtract 5-10 minutes from cooking time. For Indian dals or other dishes with a thicker consistency and softer texture, add 5-10 minutes.
• Lentils, like all legumes, should be sorted and rinsed before cooking.
• Cooked lentils freeze beautifully for up to 6 months. If preparing to be frozen, slightly undercook your lentils.

Types of Lentils

Brown lentils are the most common variety available in grocery stores. They have a mild, earthy flavor and creamy texture, and soften when they cook, but still retain their lens-like shape. They are commonly served hot in soups and stews but they are also delicious served cold as a salad mixed  with finely minced onion, peppers, and spices, and dressed with olive oil and lemon juice or other vinaigrette. Prepared this way they are a common sandwich filling in meatless diets.

French green, or Puy lentils, have a sharper, somewhat peppery taste. They take longer to cook than brown lentils and retain some firmness, making them a favorite for salads due to their toothsome texture.

Red lentils are brown lentils with the hulls removed. Their mild, sweet flavor is favored in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. They break down into a golden-colored mush when cooked and they can do double-duty as a gluten-free thickener in other recipes.

Small, black, and shiny, Beluga lentils resemble Beluga caviar when cooked. On the expensive side – by lentil standards; they are still a very inexpensive source of protein – black lentils have a strong, earthy flavor. When the hull of the black lentil is removed, the mildly flavored white lentil is left behind.

Check out our helpful guide to all things lentil here.

Whichever lentil type you buy, you can be sure you will find them easy, adaptable, and delicious. See some of our favorite lentil recipes below:

Easy Vegan Coconut Curry Lentils

A quick and delicious meal; the seasoning can be adjusted to your comfort level of heat. Coconut milk adds richness and a subtle flavor to the dish while tempering the spiciness. Perfect for a cold evening, it can be served over rice or with naan or pita bread for a complete meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 (1 pound) bag Camellia Brand Lentils
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 small bunch of green onions, chopped
• 8 ounces baby portabella or button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 bunch baby kale, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Garnish: chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. In a large heavy pot, melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add green onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and red pepper flakes; cook for about 5 minutes or until onions have softened and aromatics have released their flavors.
2. Add the vegetable broth, cover, and bring to a boil.
3. Add lentils, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and mushrooms; stir to combine.
4. Turn down to medium heat, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Turn down to low heat, uncover, add coconut milk, then gently simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
6. Just before serving, stir in chopped baby kale.
7. Garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve over rice or with naan or pita bread.

L.H.’s Savory Lentils