Spicy Black Beans and Rice

Generally speaking, I am a recipe follower. Twenty years ago, if I didn’t have the right size can of diced tomatoes for a dish, I would throw up my hands in frustration and go out to dinner, rather than tamper with the written instructions. “What if the extra four ounces of tomatoes ruins the whole thing?”

But these days, I trust myself more. I’ve learned some of the whys when it comes to cooking. Like, why you shouldn’t crowd the pan when browning mean. (Instead of getting a nice crust, the meat will steam and turn gray.) Or why you really do need to salt the pasta water. (Otherwise: bland pasta.) Or why fatty cuts of meat make for the silkiest, most tender stews, if they are cooked low and slow. (That causes the fat to melt away and the meat to fall apart.)

Knowledge has given me confidence to tamper. So when I saw this recipe for Smoky Black Bean Soup with Sausage in a recent Martha Stewart Living, I read the ingredients and thought, “Eh, I can work with that.”

I decided to sub smoked sausage for the andouille sausage, which is too chunky for me. I didn’t have green onions in my fridge, so I swapped in some diced yellow onion. And I used less thyme, because it’s not my favorite spice.

And lo - I ended up with a fairly thick black bean stew that was packed with flavor. I ended up serving it over rice, to make it stretch further.

Look at me, all innovating and stuff.

SPICY BLACK BEANS AND RICE

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

3 links smoked sausage or kielbasa tthisct/roasted-garlic-smoked-pork-and-beef-sausage/ is my favorite brand)

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 can (10-14 oz) diced tomatoes and chiles (like Rotel)

2 cans (15 oz) black beans

1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Slice sausage into rounds, about 1/2” thick. Drizzle oil into large skillet and heat over medium. Add sausage and brown until desired crispness.

2. When sausage is crisp, transfer to a plate. Add onion, celery and thyme to remaining oil in pan and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.

3. Stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 4 additional minutes.

4. Drain and rinse one can of beans, leaving the second in its liquid. Add both cans to the pot, along with 1 cup of water and the salt and pepper. Return to a boil, then reduce heat and summer for 15 minutes.

5. For a slightly creamier dish, remove 1 cup of the mixture before serving and puree in a blender until smooth, then return to pan.

6. Add the sausage back to the pan before serving - or put a few slices on top of the beans as you serve them.

7. Eat on top of brown rice, if desired.