Jambalaya
Jambalaya is as synonymous with New Orleans Cuisine as Gumbo! There are vicious debates about whether the dish is of French or Spanish origin. The word itself is from the French & Spanish word for ham, Jambon. The a la is French, and the ya is said to be an African word for "Rice". Personally, I can't see how someone could dispute the dishes similarity to the Spanish Paella, but hey, my opinion is like everyone else's: Worthless. Here is what we do know about Jambalaya: It's delicious! So everyone quick arguing and get cooking! (Although I love that people in Louisiana argue about food!) Here is my recipe which is an adaption of one of Paul Prudhomme's recipes.
Chicken & Andouille Sausage Jambalaya
1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Andouille Sausage, Diced
1/2 Cup Onion, Diced
1/2 Cup Bell Pepper, Diced
1/2 Cup Celery, Diced
2 Tbsp. Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup Tomataoes, Diced
1/4 Cup Tomato Sauce
1 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock
3/4 Cup Enriched Long grain Rice
1 Cup Boneless Chicken Thigh, Diced
(Seasoning Mix: 1/2 tsp Cayenne, 3/4 tsp White Pepper, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme, 1/2 tsp Rubbed Sage, 3 Bay Leaves)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter, saute the Andouille until slightly browned. Add 1/2 of the trinity (onion/b.pepper/celery) saute until tender. Add tomato cook about a minute, then add the tomato sauce, cook 1 minute more. Add the garlic and rice, cook 1 minute. Add the stock, seasoning mix, bay leaves, other half of the trinity, and Raw Chicken. Stir well and bake uncovered for about 30-40 minutes, or until the rice is cooked, but still has a little bite. Top with chopped parsley, and sliced green onions. Put on some Zydeco and enjoy!
Yield: 2-3 servings
**NOTE** You could substitute shrimp or other seafood for the chicken & seafood stock for the chicken stock. You could also substitute ham, tasso, kielbasa, chorizo, etc, etc... for the Andouille. This dish is great for using up leftovers. Last night I made it with 1/2 cup ham/ 1/2 cup Andouille, and I used leftover smoked chicken that I made the night before. As long as you keep the liquid/rice ratio you can use whatever you want.
posted by Danno | 3/03/2005 09:09:00 AM
6 Comments:
"first you make da roux"
Hi, you might want to try this sometime--after you brown the sausage, dust the oil with some flour and make a mahogany roux, then continue as before.
I have also done the following and it was nice--brown the meat, make a "dusting" of mahagony roux, then add the rice! and let it cook a bit without liquid until it gets white on most parts. then add your veggies etc.
I haven't perfected the technique yet, but the idea for using a roux with rice comes from Prudhommes "Opelousas Rice and Gravy" where he says the secret to the dish is that he browns the flour first.
It does add a layer of complexity that I truly enjoy and have incorporated the technique into making a red gravy--(now my favorite tomato sauce).
As a side note--if you have ever had Paul Prudhomme's Opelousas Rice and Gravy and could identify the spice mix that he uses , I would sure appreciate it--I haven't been able to duplicate that flavor and I truly love it.
Cordially,
__t_i_m_o_t_h_y__m_u_r_r_a_y__
I grew up on Paul Prodhomme's Jamba recipe. My dad always made it with some variations. Naturally, I have my own take on it as well.
First off, I am not a big andouille sausage fan. I don't like the fattiness/chewiness of it. I try to find a smoked all beef sausage. I always cut it into rounds instead of pieces and brown the shit out of it so it is crispy not soft. Then I make a roux with the butter and fat in the pan.
Green peppers are as flavorless as iceberg lettuce. They add nothing to food but act as a vehicle more than anything. I do the same ratio in the trinity except I use a roughly 50/50 mix with red bell peppers and poblano and then toss one jalapeno in.
This not only adds depth to the trinity but a little more spice, which is always great in cajun cooking. I also add a little extra Cayenne pepper.
Everything else i do is basically textbook. I do it on the stove top on medium heat though, not in the oven and total cooking time start to finish is about 40 minutes. I always toss in some large butterflied shrimp in the last 3 minutes before serving.
A nice variation that I have had is with fettuccine instead of rice. Love Jamba though and it is always fun to make. Goes great with some bad ass homemade cornbread with jalapeno's in it and finished with a good bread pudding!
Maule
This dish was excellent. I made the recipe exactly what is specified. It had so much flavor. Both my husband and I enjoyed it thoroughly. He requested me to make it again.
Hi,
I am about to make your jumbalaya. I love your recipes, and I especially love that you aren't even from Nawlins. I'm not either. I am from Virginia, but I live in Spain. I have learned a great deal about Spanish and French cooking (I also lived in Lyon for a while) and the language. I am almost 100% sure that this dish comes from French..at the very least in epistemology. There's no "b" in "jamon", the Spanish word for ham. Also, the smoked flavor of the andouille or the affinity for crawfish or shrimp is much more French, or from the most northern parts of Spain (and they don't consider themselves Spanish, so there you go) who were not really a part of the conquista in America. Also, I am with you on the paella connection-- I see absolutely zero. The rice is different, the flavors have nothing to do with each other....but they BOTH are good for using leftovers! In fact, paella simply is the name of the pan in which they used to cook their leftovers when the Moors were here. Ok, maybe no one cares about the history lesson, but you can take this post with a grain of salt, pepper, or whatever you cajuns like to use!
au revoir
I never cooked before Chicken & Andouille Sausage Jambalaya but I will try it now ;)
Excellent recipe! I changed a couple of things, adding a scant tsp of good paprika and 1/2 tsp garlic powder, the latter being a common ingredient in Cajun cooking. The other thing I did differently was to use small whole thighs with the sking on, browning them first, removing them and pouring out the chicken fat. After this step I proceeded as per your instructions, we enjoyed it a lot!
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