Instant Pot: Red Beans and Rice

"Southern" food is my favorite over all others if I had to choose.  I recommend when in New Orleans to try red beans and rice if you haven't already.  While it is not a pretty dish, it is a carby comfort food and soooo delicious.  I decided to give this a go today in my instant pot.  I was going to make a dish using beautiful Swiss chard I obtained, but I will make that tomorrow as a side for this.  I had to use what I had in the house, so this is not "southern authentic" by any means.  It's just my spin on the classic recipe.  One thing I've been trying do during this pandemic is buy local food and support our own purveyors.  I think it's something I will try to continue, though it is pricier...

I took these out of the freezer and sliced them when they were still partially frozen.  It is much easier to do that then, rather than when soft and squishy.

• 2 cups small red beans (soaked in water for about 6 hours; you could do as short as 2 hours), drain and rinse again
• 5 cups organic low-sodium "Better than Bouillon" chicken stock
• 1 lb hot Italian sausage, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 small bell peppers, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely with seeds and innards 
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, and more as needed
• 1 tablespoon Trader Joe's no-salt "21 Seasoning Salute"
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (to make up for not having smoked sausage)
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• 3 cups sliced frozen okra
• Handful fresh Italian parsley, chopped coarsely
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt, to taste
• Heirloom short grain brown rice, prepared to package directions
• 2 green onions, sliced for garnish

Mise en place first!  Line up all the ingredients and have them ready to go.  Saute the sausage in olive oil until browned.  Remove with slotted spoon and set aside into a bowl lined with paper towel to absorb the fat.  Add onions, celery, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic.  Cook until just soft and fragrant.  

Add sausage back to the pot, along with beans, okra, stock, seasonings, bay leaves and parsley.

Stir.  Turn "Sauté" mode off. Cover, twist to lock the lid, and turn the valve to sealing. Press the Manual button and set to 40 minutes at high pressure.  Just a note that depending on your beans, the time may need to be adjusted, especially if you didn't soak them.  I've gotten a batch of beans that took hours to become soft before...When the timer beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 20 minutes. Then turn the valve to venting and wait for all pressure to go.  Remove lid.  Take out bay leaves.

If you like, you can try to mash some beans, to make a creamy consistency.  Add S&P and Cajun seasoning to taste.  Stir one final time.  Serve with hot cooked rice and garnish with green onions.  Use additional hot sauce if you like.  

This came out as well.  I probably could have used a cup of water less as there was more liquid than desired, but I couldn't guess with the okra how much less I should use.  The okra dissolved in the Instant Pot.  In hindsight I should have stirred it in at the end.  The beans were firm but done.  Like I said, it's hard to know each batch.  Next time I'd natural release it for longer though...Flavors were good, it was spicy and a bit smokey tasting.  This will be great when I reheat it in a pan tomorrow, I can get it exactly where I want it in texture/taste.