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Creole Bean

Creole bean is a common ingredient of Creole cooking. Red beans are most commonly used in Creole cooking and dishes like rice and beans, bean soup and bean burgers are very popular.  Other varieties that are commonly used in Creole cooking include pinto beans, navy beans, small white beans and small pea beans

 

Culinary Uses of Creole Beans

Many varieties of beans are used in day to day cooking. The bean is used in rice to from a single filling meal or it can be combined with meat, pork, chicken, turkey, and hamburger mince to form a thick stew. There are recipes where different varieties of beans are combined to form three-bean, eight-bean or twelve-bean soups.

 

Popular Creole Bean Recipes

  • Rice and bean is one of the most popular dishes of Creole cuisine. According to researchers, rich sugar planters from Haiti bought the bean along with them to Louisiana. Red beans and rice was created in New Orleans and quickly became an integral part of Creole cuisine.
  • Creole soup made with beans is very common as it is very easy to prepare. Dried pea beans, small beans or pinto beans are cooked with onions, water and carrots to form a thick soup. A ham hock or ham bone has to be added to the soup during the cooking process to create the distinctive taste.
  • Creole burgers with beans were an easy way for cooks to use up boiled beans. The beans were simmered with onions, catsup, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, breadcrumbs and pepper. The beans are then formed into patties and deep-fried.

 

Preferable Cooking Methods for Creole Beans

Traditionally, Creole bean is soaked overnight. The soaking water is discarded and the beans are washed. They are then simmered in water in a pressure cooker to soften them. Usually, slow cooking in a cooker is not recommended as some varieties of beans used in cooking may contain toxic enzymes. Cooking the beans in the right way can deactivate the enzymes making the beans safe to eat.

 

Trivia

Traditionally, red Creole bean and rice was considered to be a Monday dish served as a cleanser for the body after heavy Sunday meals.