Ready for some "jazzy" Louisiana Creole Cookin'? Here's a recipe I have developed for jambalaya. Experiment with different kinds of sausage, and add shrimp if you like!
The Cajuns invented jambalaya around the bayou. Food was scarce there, in contrast to the wealthier part of Louisiana. There were many slaves in Louisiana, and the word "jambalaya" is believed to be a compound of the French word
jambon, "ham," and
aya, meaning "rice" in African. The primary difference between Cajun and Creole jambalaya is that the Cajun dish does not contain tomatoes or tomato sauce, while Creole jambalaya does.
I've done something a little different with my jambalaya than you usually see: I make the jambalaya and the tomato sauce as separate units and add the sauce on top as you would add marina to spaghetti. I used to enjoy jambalaya made in this way by an authentic Creole/Cajun chef in our area. I like making it this way because it gives you a chance to separate the tastes of both the Creole and Cajun style jambalaya!
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter
5 cloves minced garlic
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped yellow onion
1.75 cups green bell pepper (with seeds and membrane removed), chopped
1 cup red bell pepper (with seeds and membrane removed), chopped
1 cup orange bell pepper (with seeds and membrane removed), chopped
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
5 8 0z. cans tomato sauce
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbsp. paprika
1 lb. skinless & boneless chicken filet, cubed in pieces ranging from between about 1/2" and 1”
1.5 lb. smoked sausage, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4” or 1/2"pieces
3 cups Uncle Ben’s® Converted® Original long grain white rice
3 14 oz. cans chicken broth
3/4 cup water
3 tbsp. Griff’s American Creole Seasoning mix (See recipe for this mix below.)
Instructions:Mix the fresh veggies all together: that is the chopped onion, celery, green, red, and orange bell peppers, and garlic and separate into two equal piles. In a medium size pot, heat the butter. Then add half of the fresh veggies and sauté until they are soft. Then add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, brown sugar, hot pepper sauce and 1 tbsp. Griff’s American Creole Seasoning Mix (see recipe for this below). Cover and simmer while preparing the rest of the dinner. In a mixing bowl or on a baking sheet, sprinkle the paprika on the the chicken cubes and roll them around in it. Heat canola oil in a large kettle and add the chicken. Heat the chicken until thoroughly cooked and then add the smoked sausage and continue to heat for 5 minutes or so, stirring often. Then add the other half of the veggies. Heat together for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, water and 2 tbsp. Griff’s American Creole Seasonings Mix. Bring to boil. Add rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 or 25 minutes (or until rice is cooked). Serve on plate or in a bowl with the tomato sauce mixture on top, in the same manner you would serve spaghetti and marinara sauce. Makes about 12 hearty servings.
Griff's American Creole Seasoning Mix:
Ingredients:
4 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. white pepper
1 tbsp. Lawry’s® seasoned pepper
1 tbsp. celery seed
1 tbsp. dried oregano leaves
1 tbsp. dried basil leaves
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
Instructions:Mix together in a roomy plastic storage container, put the lid on and shake everything together real well. Great for blackened fish and chicken and a host of Creole and Cajun dishes.
In my most recent post I gave you my recipe for jambalaya and a bit of history regarding this robust and spicy dish. Speaking of Cajun, let me tell you about an incredible resource entitled Cajun Clark Presents: One Inch from the Top... The Only Way to Cook! In it you'll find Cajun fried turkey and everything you'll ever want or need to know about beef and pork ribs; in fact, check out the hundred or more chicken and pork chop recipes. Cajun Clark includes recipes from his friends in Maine and Ontario, Canada; small game recipes, and soul food recipes... Got a sweet tooth? There are recipes for cookies, cakes, pies, puddings, cobblers, tea cakes and candies... Recipes, recipes, and more recipes--in fact more than 1,100 recipes! And not only recipes, but a lot of great reading; and some dang funny reading! This book is available in a 659 page Adobe Acrobat PDF download for only $19.95. Perhaps we should let Cajun Clark describe his own book:
