Margarita's International Recipes

Cajun

Jambalaya Jambalaya, a concoction of rice, vegetables, shrimp, chicken and sausage cooked together in one pot and heavily spiced, is one of the most characteristic dishes of the Cajun people. Cajun jambalaya differs from its Creole counterpart mainly by the lack of tomatoes. The recipe below, though, actually contains 2 tomatoes, I'm not sure why. It comes from Emerile Lagasse and I thought it was quite good, though we all preferred his recipe for Creole jambalaya. Even though I greatly lowered the amount of pepper called for in this recipe, my kids still found it too hot for their taste (though the oldest one is taking the leftovers to school for lunch). Other than lowering the pepper, my only real modification of the original recipe was in tripling it. I like having leftovers. Jambalaya Ingredients 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1/2 yellow onion, chopped 1 small green bell pepper, chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped 10 garlic cloves, chopped 2 tomatoes, chopped 4 bay leaves (optional) 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. hot sauce 2 1/4 cups rice 4 - 6 cups chicken stock 3 Tbsp. Creole seasoning 1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled & chopped 1 lb. boneless/skinless chicken, chopped 12 oz Andouille sausage, sliced salt & pepper & additional Creole seasoning. Instructions Heat oil in a large pot. Add the chopped onions, green bell peppers and celery and cook over high heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves, if using, and cook a couple of more minutes. Add the Worcestershire and hot sauces and mix well. Add the rice and mix again. Pour the chicken stock slowly. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook until the rice is soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the Creole seasoning with the shrimp and chicken, making sure all the meat is covered. Set aside. Once the rice is tender add the chicken/shrimp mixture and cook until the chicken & shrimp are cooked through, 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how big your chunks are). Season with salt, pepper and additional Creole seasoning to taste. Adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe at Food Network.com Cajun Recipes | Margarita's International Recipes | E-mail