Jambalaya

 

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Fall is here and we are in the mood for something a little spicy that warms the soul, so I am making Jambalaya. I put tomatoes in mine, that's an option. Actually when making these foods there are lots of options, like what meats, sausages, chicken, turkey, seafoods or all vegetarian you want to use. Today I am using chicken, small shrimp, and some sausages sliced.

A little history of creole foods and southern cooking recipes:

Jambalaya

Think of jambalaya as a distant relative of paella. It's got protein and vegetables (sometimes tomatoes, sometimes not), with rice and stock later simmered together or combined before serving.

Gumbo

In contrast, gumbo — a mix of vegetables and meat or shellfish with thickened stock — is thinner and served as a soup alongside rice that's cooked separately.

Etouffée

Different from gumbo (which is considered a soup), étouffée's a main course, made of one type of shellfish (crawfish or shrimp, for instance) that's been smothered in a thick sauce and sometimes served ladled over rice.

What you need:

3-4 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 large red onion (medium dice)

1 stalk celery (diced)
1 large red bell pepper (medium dice)

4-5 garlic cloves minced

1 pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs

1 pound sausage (I used an Italian sausage and smoked kielbasa)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (divided)
1 teaspoon  pepper (ok I use black ground, white and mixed from my grinder)

1 cup uncooked white rice
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes or crushed
1 (32 ounce) container chicken broth (low sodium)
1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon healthy creole seasoning
hot sauce (to taste)

1 pound frozen shrimp (pre-peeled and deveined)

How to make it:

To a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, add butter/oil and place over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery and peppers and sauté for 5 minutes. Add chicken, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cook until chicken is done. Drain excess fat. Add the other meats or sausages, stir to combine and cook through for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the rice until evenly coated in the vegetable mixture, then pour in the tomatoes with juice,  chicken broth, bay leaves, and thyme leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp, bring to a simmer and cook another 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Remove from heat and serve.