This is one of my more adventurous dishes as it contains ingredients that I normally avoid, such as bacon and sausages. Most recipes that I read use a lot of salt, but I remove that in all my home-cooked meals.
You need to understand that many ingredients contain plenty of sodium naturally, so you rarely need to add any salt. Shellfish and fish, in general, contain natural salts. As such, you do not need to use any salt when cooking these foods.
This dish was relatively simple. It is a hearty Cajun dish that is full of authentic Louisiana flavor. It’s quick to make, which makes it ideal for the busy weeknights, and you can even prepare it during the weekend and store it for midweek dinner.
- Prep Time 30 minutes
- Cook Time 1 hour
- Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
- Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb bacon diced
- 1 lb spicy sausage or chorizo, diced
- 1 lb fresh pork sausage patty, with no casing
- 4 boneless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 yellow onions diced
- 2 (red and green) peppers seeded and diced
- 4 celery stalks finely sliced
- 5 cloves garlic minced – you can also use already minced garlic
- 3 cups of white rice
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 lbs shrimp peeled and deveined (I use frozen shrimps)
- 1 bunch green onions chopped
Instructions
- Start to brown the sausgae and bacon in a large dutch oven, over medium heat
- Season the chicken with pepper and add to the pot
- Cook the chicken until it is browned
- Gently remove all the meats from the pot, and place them on a plate or in a bowl
- Do not clean the put – the burnt in meats will give extra flavor to the Jambalaya
- Add the onions to the pot and cook for about 15 minutes, until they caramelize
- Add the peppers, celery, and garlic to the pot and cook the vegetables until they’ve softened
- Add the meat back to the pot, and mix it gently with the vegetables
- Add the rice, thyme, bay leaves, paprika, cayenne, and ground pepper
- Cook for another 5 minutes, and make sure you mixed it well so the spices are covering all the ingredients
- Turn the heat up to medium-high
- Add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth
- Add the rice
- When the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 15 minutes
- Season the shrimp with pepper and add them to the pot, as well as the green onions
- Put the lid back on the pot, turn off the heat, and let it sit for another 10 minutes
Let me know how you get on with this dish, and if it was a success with the family.