Recipe: Jamabalaya

Jamabalaya

Ingredients and Equipment

Stock pot

1 pound andouille sausage

1-2 bell peppers (I used red peppers)

1-2 jalapenos, fresh

Half a large onion

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3-4 cups of chicken stock

Rice

3 tablespoons cajun seasoning

1 cup okra

1 pound shrimp

14 oz crushed tomatoes with basil (that’s the way I bought it, you don’t have to)

Bay leaf

Yield: 6-8 servings

A one-pot meal, this Jambalaya turned out really well. I’ll be making this again.

Directions:

Slice the sausage and add it to the stock pot. Lightly brown the sausage. If you add chicken (I didn’t this time around), make sure both the chicken and sausage are fully cooked.

While that is browning, chop the bell peppers, jalapenos, onion, and garlic. If you prefer, you can remove the seed pod from the jalapenos. I chose to leave them in for an extra spicy kick. I also used two jalapenos instead of one. Despite the extra spice, I found that it was not over-powering.

Saute the vegetables on low-medium heat in the stock pot. Once done, add in the chopped okra.

Note on okra: Fresh okra is slimy, yet satisfying. *badum tsch* You can minimize the slime by boiling the uncut okra for a few minutes or saute it in a separate pan. Just be careful with the knife. Be sure to cut the tops off and discard them before cutting the rest of the okra though. 😉

Add the crushed tomatoes and chicken stock, and reduce the heat to low to let it simmer. Be sure to stir every so often to keep the vegetables from burning on the bottom. Also add the cajun seasoning. I used a regular table spoon and added three servings of the cajun seasoning. You can optionally add the rice to let it soak up some of the liquid. I chose to prepare the rice in a rice cooker for time, but kind of regret it to be honest. I had a lot of liquid. It was yummy, but it was a lot. Near the end, the last 5-10 minutes of simmering, add the shrimp. Make sure the shrimp cooks to a nice pink color. Also add the bay leaf at this point too

Once done simmering, remove the bay leaf and discard. Plate with the rice.

I also prepared cornbread muffins. I just used a box and prepared accordingly. I also added a diced fresh jalapeno to the mix.