Cajun White Beans

Fortunately in the places I've lived and worked, I've always been near a Wahoo's Fish Taco. Whether it is for a work lunch or a quick weeknight or weekend dinner, this is a great spot. Their core food is Baja Coastal Mexican fare but they introduce some influences from other cuisines.

One is their Banzai sautéed veggies which uses a light teriyaki sauce giving it an Asian flavor and the other is their Cajun white beans. These are some of my favorite beans. My go-to order is a Banzai burrito with the rice and Cajun beans on the side instead of in the burrito. It's an awesome meal.

I love these beans so much, I've been tempted to get a part time job at Wahoo's just to learn the secret. Doing some Google searches for a copycat recipe has turned up nothing helpful. For now, I'll use this post to track my trial and errors before I finally am able to perfect it.

And if anyone knows the secret recipe and won't get in trouble sharing it or offering some tips and suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound white navy beans (soaked for 8 hours in 4 cups water and 4 tsp kosher salt)
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1/4 yellow or white onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) tomato paste
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp chicken/vegetable buillon or 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1-2 tsp cayenne hot sauce (I think Wahoo's uses Tapatio)

Directions

• Drain the soaked beans.
• Grab your pressure cooker or a pot. Saute the onion in the oil on medium heat until translucent (about 3-5 minutes).
• Add the tomato paste and seasonings and cook until fragrant (about 30-60 seconds).
• Add the remaining ingredients including the drained beans and bring to a simmer. 
• Cook the beans in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes on the Bean/Chili setting or on the stove top covered for 2 hours.
• Release the pressure and remove the lid. Stir the beans and continue simmering them on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the liquid has evaporated some and thickened slightly.
• When beans are tender and liquid has become a loose sauce, serve and enjoy.