1 large onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced - traditionally it is green bell pepper, use what you like
6 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp canola or grapeseed oil
6 boneless-skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
8 oz Italian sausage or Andouille, parboiled for 5 minutes, cooled then remove casings,cut crosswise; see note about sausage at bottom of recipe
2 cups long grain white rice, (I use parboiled rice like Uncle Bens, it does not split when cooked in a sauce)
1 Tbsp Barts Creole Seasoning (see recipe for it elsewhere)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried rubbed sage (optional but I like it)
1 tsp crushed chili pepper flakes
1 - 19 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 lb fresh uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined (20 count)
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced fine
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add chicken, cook about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add sliced parboiled sausage to chicken and fry for 5 minutes.
With heat on medium, add onion, celery, garlic and bell pepper, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent.
Add rice, salt, thyme, sage, Creole seasoning and crushed pepper flakes, cook, stirring frequently, until rice starts to turn light brown.
At 15 minutes add shrimp, lemon juice, black pepper and parsley, stir gently, cover, and continue to cook until rice is cooked and tender about 5 minutes more. (The shrimp don’t require more cooking time than 5 minutes or they start to get tough.) If the mixture is getting too dry add a bit of chicken stock to keep moist but not too loose and watery.
Remove from heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. The liquid will absorb in to the rice. Stir gently to fluff up before serving.
Note: Traditionally this is made with Andouille sausage or a Tasso ham which are spicy and smoky. She Who Must Be Obeyed does not like them so hot Italian sausage is the substitute, boiled in the casing for 5 minutes then let cool. Once cool, remove casing, then cut them across into ½” pieces.
Jambalaya is made with all manner of meats or seafood. Lamb, chicken, beef, goat, shrimp, crayfish, lobster or crabs even. You can use whatever combination you like to make it your own. Also you can cut the tomato content as much as you want. Many like it tomato-ee tasting but if you prefer, cut the tomato amount by adding chicken stock to make up the total amount of tomato you reduced. Make sense?
Enjoy...
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