Cooking on the fly is the jazz of the kitchen world.
What if you don’t have the exact ingredient a recipe calls for?
We’ve all been told to read the recipe all the way through and make sure we have everything before turning on a burner. But life happens. We forgot we were out of something. The grocery store doesn’t have what we need.
Or, as was the case with this recipe for Red Beans and Sausage, I was 12 years old and I lived 15 minutes’ drive away from the nearest store with parents who shopped once a week. We didn’t have the Cajun seasoning that Taste of Home called for. What was I supposed to do?
Some of us would have just left out the ingredient. Others would have decided not to make the recipe at all, since the missing ingredient or any substitution would yield a different result. A rule-following perfectionist even then, I lived in the last category.
My father did not. “Cajun seasoning is just a mix of spices. We probably have them all. Why don’t you look it up?”
The ingredients in most Cajun seasonings were red pepper flake, thyme, garlic powder, and “seasonings,” in that order. With my father’s guidance, I substituted the teaspoon of Cajun seasoning for ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon thyme, a sprinkle of garlic powder, and a dash of salt and pepper.
The dish was delicious. The spices that I added gave depth and heat to the beans and sausage. They tasted exactly like it had come out of the Bayou—no Cajun seasoning needed.
What happens when you can’t find the arbol chiles to make a particular salsa recipe? Do you give up? Or do you search the web for types of chile similar to arbol, and then buy the next best thing?
Recipes are not holy maps to the perfect home-cooked meal. They can be both inspirational and helpful; the best ones blend brilliant flavor combinations with the technical instruction needed to make a delicious dish. But they’re not sacred.
Don’t be afraid to riff. You might find something you like even better than the original.
Enjoy!
Cajun Red Beans and Sausage*
(Serves 4)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
½ pound smoked ring turkey sausage, cut into half-coins**
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large or 2 small green pepper(s), chopped***
1 medium onion, chopped***
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
¾ cup water
½ teaspoon red pepper
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Diamond Crystal kosher salt and pepper
½ teaspoon hot sauce
Cooked white rice or beans, to serve
Method Heat 1 tablespoon oil a large saute pan on medium-high heat. Add the sausage half-coins and sear, turning occasionally, until nicely browned on both sides. Scoop into a bowl and set aside.
Do not turn off the burner or clean the saute pan. Decrease the pan heat to medium and add remaining tablespoon of oil, onion, pepper, garlic, and a three-finger pinch of salt. Saute the vegetables until tender. As they cook, you will notice that they release their water, and the onion should start to pick up color from the brown bits that collected at the bottom of the pan when the sausage was fried. Beyond this flavor absorption, do not allow the vegetables to take on color!
Once the vegetables are tender, add beans, water, red pepper flakes, thyme, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste (a two-finger pinch of salt and a few grinds of the pepper mill usually work for me). Increase the heat and bring everything to a simmer, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Once most of the liquid has evaporated, stir in sausage and hot sauce. Taste and add more hot sauce and salt to taste.
Serve over rice or some bread for sopping up the sauce!*****
*I originally found it in an old Taste of Home magazine (yes, I used to collect them). I have since modified it even further, amping up the dried herbs and spices and modifying some of the technique to enhance the overall flavor—one example is my decision to brown the sausage and then saute the vegetables in the flavorful pan drippings left behind.
**Yes, turkey sausage. Don’t be weirded out. I don’t eat turkey sausage in any other meal, but I think it’s delicious in this dish. I usually buy the type labeled Polish kielbasa. You could probably use beef if you wanted as well, just be sure it’s pre-cooked and smoked. If buying such a processed meat ingredient horrifies you, feel free to experiment with other kinds! Just remember that this dish lives in the Bayou, so make sure that the sausage’s flavor profile supports the Cajun flare.
***Both the peppers and onion should be chopped into approximately a quarter-inch square pieces. No, you do not have to get out a ruler. Just make sure they’re about that size and roughly all the same, so they cook evenly.
****Hot sauces are all different and, to be honest, the dish will be delicious no matter what type you use. However, like the sausage, the variety you pick will influence the dish’s final flavor, so try to find something that supports the Cajun flavor notes. I recommend Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot, which are both vinegar-forward and work perfectly in this context. Cholula or Sriracha, hot sauces with fruitier flavors, do not work as well here.
*****The magazine recipe suggested serving it with rice; however, I have found that the choice of accompaniment is the most flexible component of the recipe. If you’re not a fan of rice, try flatbread, pita, or even garlic bread on the side. All those options will soak up the delicious sauce brilliantly. Alternately, you could stuff it in a pita or even wrap it up in a tortilla for a quick bite on the go. And if you’re not a carb person, you could leave out the grain altogether. Feel free to riff. It’s your meal.
Originally posted August 9, 2019.
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