Kinda Dirty Rice

I'm not too sure what Dirty Rice is exactly. I know it has sausage and other animal bits in it as well as cayenne. This is my new version of it. I found these "sausages" at whole foods the other week in the tofu/tempeh section and was wondering why there were being stocked there. I thought they were real sausages. Then I read that they were made from legumes, grain and vegetables and I bought them. This was an unusual purchase for me since I usually shy away from items like this. But the ingredients weren't weird at all and I was excited that they said HOT and SPICY on em. So here is my latest version of the recipe.



Kinda Dirty Rice

1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Field Roast Sausage Mexican Chipotle link chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped white onion
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and chopped small
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small carrot, diced small (approx. 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 15oz can of black beans, drained but not rinsed (or use fresh black beans)

*Cook rice according to whatever rice cooking rules you follow.
*Brown sausage in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.
*Heat remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic and carrots and cook until al dente.
*Add paprika, cayenne, red pepper flakes and thyme and cook 1 minute more.
*Add cooked sausage and beans. Cook until heated thru and flavors have a chance to meld a bit. About 10 minutes over medium heat.
*Add cooked rice to the sausage black bean mixture and combine.
*Season with salt and pepper.

This was so good and spicy hot. If you are sensitive to hot spices just reduce the amount of cayenne. Peter and I love spicy food though. Ideally this recipe would have a bell pepper in there somewhere. I was under the impression that I had one in my fridge. I couldn't find it (which doesn't mean it's not there) so I used a carrot instead. The sausages themselves pack quite a punch of heat. The "sausage" was sooooooooo good. Kinda like a seitan sausage. I have 3 of them left and have to think of other recipes to use them in. I can't wait to use the rest of them.