Mardis Gras 2014 pt. 1: Vegan Cajun B&B Recipe

I have an affinity for Cajun food – maybe because I’m a fan of spicy food. I’ve made several trips to New Orleans, a very good friend of mine from high school lives there, and Sunnie and I had some great vegan gumbo on our last trip.  So I thought I’d share a couple of recipes that I often break out for parties in honor of this year’s Mardis Gras.

While Indiana is limited in its vegan options, for a number of years, one of the most available sources of vegetarian and vegan restaurants was a Cajun place called Yat’s. Fortunately or unfortunately, they’ve since been far surpassed in their veg-fare by other restaurants. You have to call ahead to see if there is anything vegan available on their daily menu now-a-days, so we often head elsewhere, but for a number of years, they were the spot to hit in downtown Indianapolis. This recipe is a vegan version of one of my favorite dishes from my vegetarian days. I was sad to learn they put milk in their version when I turned vegan, so I had to come up with my own vegan version.

Cajun B&B recipe
(8-10 servings)

12 ears fresh sweet corn or 1 large 2 pound bag of frozen sweet corn kernels
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups onions, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large, 32 ounce cans of black beans, washed, or 2 ½ cups dried and prepared
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 cup evaporated milk (2 cups plant milk cooked down with ¾ cups sugar – I used almond)

5 cups of uncooked rice, cooked, to serve over
1/4 cup diced green onions to garnish (optional)

Directions
· Prepare the corn by cutting off kernels into bowl, saving “milk” if not using frozen
· Melt the butter in a large saucepan or pot over medium-high heat.
· Add the onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes and saute until the onions are transparent, about 10 minutes.
· Stir in the salt and peppers, then add the corn, the black beans, the sugar and evaporated milk and stir well.
· Reduce heat to medium and cook until the corn is tender, about 10-15 more minutes.
· Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve over rice.

The work is in the dicing, so this is quick and easy if you use frozen, pre-diced veggies!

It makes for a nice colorful dish!

Vegan B&B! Don’t know why they call it this, but who cares – it’s yummy and a crowd pleasing way to serve a bunch of people!