New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

An iconic southern dish with a thousand variants! We think this is the best. Chorizo is a great substitute for the original version’s andouille sausage. Don’t use basmati here - long grain, fluffy rice is essential or you can have a gummy mess on your hands

• 500g uncooked Domingo Rojo beans

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil

• 400g chorizo sausage, cut into thick slices

• 2 onions, chopped

• 5 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 celery stalk, sliced

• 2 green peppers, seeds and pith removed, chopped

• 4 bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, ground

• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

• Pepper and salt

• 1 tablespoon coarse-grain mustard

• White, long grain rice, cooked

• To serve: vinegary hot sauce (eg Tabasco or Crystal)

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and brown the chorizo slices, stirring occasionally, about 6 mins. Remove and reserve the sausage. Add the onion, garlic, pepper and celery and saute until soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 mins. Add the dry beans, bay leaves, thyme, cayenne and enough water to cover by about 2in/5cm. Bring to a strong boil and continue boiling for 15 mins. Reduce heat to low to medium low, so that the beans are cooking with a gentle simmer. Once the beans have started to soften but are not cooked fully, just over an hour, add the reserved sausage to the beans along with the mustard. Continue to cook until the beans are soft. Add more water as needed. If you’re pressed for time, once the beans are cooked, mash some against the side of pot with a wooden spoon to thicken the liquid, or continue cooking until the liquid is more like a thick gravy than a thin soup. Check seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with plain rice and bottles of hot sauce.