Well, lucky for us, it’s February, which means Mardi Gras (more importantly, the phrase: Fat Tuesday!) The day has passed, so I won’t torture you with recipes for beignets or king cake, but I’m definitely going to recommend you dig through your drawers for Ye Olde Sweatpants, because I can never get enough of this spicy jambalaya in just one serving.
Also, if you, like me, came down with a cold this month, this is the perfect meal to help clear out your sinuses.
Recipe adapted from from Simply Recipes
Jambalaya
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Makes: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
- 12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped. (Use crawfish instead, if you can get them)
- 4 ounces chicken, cubed
- 5 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- 2 tbsp. garlic, minced
- 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
- 3 cups chicken stock
The Heat (and other seasonings)
Adjust Heat needed for your palate. I like to go super spicy, but my regular houseguests often object.
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 bay leaves
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1 tbsp. filé seasoning
- ½ - 2 tsp. black pepper
- ½ - 2 tsp. white pepper
- ½ - 2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- Hot sauce to taste
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven on medium high.
- Add onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper and sauté until almost tender.
- Add The Heat (and other seasonings) and sauté for one minute.
- Stir in chicken and sausage, make sure it’s evenly coated in mixture.
- Add chicken stock, diced tomatoes and rice.
- Turn heat down to gentle simmer and cover for about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Add shrimp or crawfish and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
- Add hot sauce to taste.
Bon appétit!
Brought to you by our resident copywriter and culinarian, Justine Kurtz