Jesus brought his disciples together for a meal the night before the most consequential moment of his ministry, of their lives, and in doing so, he gave us two important directives:

One: Take the Eucharist together as often as you can, and in doing so, you remember his peacemaking radical love for all people.

Two: When you gather, serve one another. Care for each other’s felt needs with food, listening, and, when necessary, foot washing. We don’t do a whole lot of foot washing, but we all have needs. We all have parts of our lives that feel messy and untended. We all need someone to come and offer practical help.

Maundy Thursday invites us once a year to remember that the table is the primary place where we honor each other’s humanity, brainstorm how we can care for each other’s needs, and remind each other of our collective Belovedness. We invite you to practice peacemaking by bringing together a table of people in need of this reminder with a simple meal (in this case, red beans and rice since it’s a simple, accessible meal that can be catered to a variety of tastes and preferences), a time of
deep listening, and then if possible, brainstorm ways you can “wash each other’s feet.”

Louisiana Style Red Beans and Rice with Sausage

Recipe taught to Osheta in New Orleans by women in her moms’ group.

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 2-4 hours hrs
Soaking time: 8 hours hrs

Ingredients
● 1 lb. dry red kidney beans
● 2 Tbsp cooking oil or butter
● 14 oz. Andouille sausage (sometimes I like to use the spicy kind for extra heat)
● 1 yellow onion
● 1 green bell pepper
● 3 ribs celery
● 6 cloves garlic
● Tony’s seasoning or Cajun seasoning of your choice
● 2 bay leaves
● 6 cups water
● One bouillon cube
● chopped parsley and green onions for garnish
● 1 Tbsp salt, or to taste
● 1.5 cups long-grain white rice (uncooked)

Instructions
1. The night before, add the dry beans to a large bowl with double their volume in water. Allow the beans to soak in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Before you begin your beans, make your rice. I use a rice cooker for ease, but if you’re up for it, you can make it on the stove. Here’s how: Add the rice and 3 cups water to a sauce pot. Place a lid on top, turn the heat on to high, and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let the rice simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let the rice rest for 5 minutes without removing the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

3. When you’re ready to start cooking, slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces. Add the cooking oil (or butter) and sliced sausage to a large pot and cook over medium until the sausage pieces are browned. Remove the cooked sausage with a slotted spoon and put it in a clean bowl.

4. While the sausage is cooking, dice the onion, bell pepper, and celery. Mince the garlic.

5. To cook the sausage, add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic to the pot. Sauté the vegetables over medium heat until the onions are soft, allowing the moisture from the vegetables to help dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the pot as you stir and allowing the flavor of the sausage to season your veggies.

6. Add the Tony’s seasoning. Stir and cook for one minute more.

7. Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Add them to the pot along with 6 cups fresh water and give the pot a brief stir to combine the ingredients.

8. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, drop in the bouillon cube, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the pot simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Replace the lid every time you stir.

9. After boiling for one hour, the beans should be tender. Smash the beans with the back of a spoon against the side of the pot. Continue smashing the beans and letting the pot simmer without a lid to thicken the pot.

10. Once the red beans have thickened, add the cooked sausage back to the pot along with 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley. Stir to combine. Taste the red beans and add salt to your liking. Start with 1 tsp and add more as needed. I used 1 Tbsp total (3 tsp).

11. Serve the red beans in a bowl topped with a scoop of rice and a sprinkle of sliced green onions.

Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 715kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 25g |
Sodium: 1799mg | Fiber: 14g