I wanted to start the month with a recipe. The weather here was warm this week, but today is back to winter and a warming Jambalaya is a perfect pick me up of rich flavors and hearty broth that can shake away the I-Am-Done-With-Winter feeling that seems to spread this time of year.
To find any recipe featured this month - use the search box and type: JambMar
To find any theme recipe from this year type: recipe2018
For 2018 the monthly recipe themes will be:
January - Chicken Soup (ChickJan)
February - Beef Stew (StewFeb)
March - Jambalaya (JambMar)
April - Ham & Shrimp Dishes
May - Bread recipes
June - Garden Delights
July - Grilling
August - Salsa, Corn and Jelly
September - Squash Dishes
October - Pumpkin Recipes
November - Chili
December - Herbal Cocktails
I love Jambalaya because it is generally a one pot
meal perfect for the family. And fancy
enough to serve to company. Don’t confuse Jambalaya with Gumbo. Gumbo is a
stew or soup that is traditional in Louisiana – it is almost always made with a
roux to thicken the broth. In Louisiana every family has their own unique gumbo recipe. Jambalaya on
the other hand is a rice-based dish which is usually made in one pot. It is
considered by some to be a Cajun cuisine.
Originating from the French-speaking Acadian or “Cajun” immigrants
deported by the British from Acadia in Canada to the Acadiana region of
Louisiana. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine — locally available
ingredients predominate, and preparation is simple and many time one-pot.
To make the best Jambalaya you need a heavy bottom Dutch
oven. We got a small food network one a
few years ago and my husband realized he had never really cooked until he had a
Dutch oven. We soon needed a larger one,
so as a gift I got him a bigger gray one.
Now armed with this and kosher salt, my hubby can cook anything!
We are going to start with a traditional Louisiana
Jambalaya and then over the month branch into different variations on the Jambalaya
theme. This one does take some time, as
you are going to make the chicken stock and cook the chicken as step one, then make the other parts which go a bit
faster.
Traditional
Jambalaya
1 small broiler-fryer
chicken
1 stalk celery (cut
into bit size pieces with leaves)
1 onion (quartered)
4 garlic
cloves
2 cups converted
long grain rice
1lb
cooked and peeled shrimp
1lb smoked
sausage (sliced) Andouille if you can get it.
1lb ham (cubed)
1⁄4 cup butter
1 cup yellow
onion (chopped)
3⁄4 cup green
bell pepper (chopped)
1⁄4 cup fresh
parsley (chopped)
2 garlic
cloves (minced)
1 (6
ounce) can tomato paste
1 large bay
leaf
1⁄4 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1⁄2 teaspoon ground
black pepper
DIRECTIONS
In a
large pot, cover chicken with water and add the celery, quartered onion, and
the 4 cloves of garlic. Boil until tender, approximately 1 hour.
Reserve
the stock. Remove the chicken from the bones & either cut, slice, cube or
shred.
In 5
cups of stock, cook rice until liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. The rice
should be slightly moist.
In a
Dutch oven, sauté the sausage and ham until slightly browned, about 3 to 5
minutes.
Remove
the sausage and ham from the Dutch oven and set aside.
Add
butter to Dutch oven and sauté the chopped onion, green bell pepper and parsley
until tender, about 3 minutes.
Into
the Dutch oven, add the chicken, sausage, ham, the 2 cloves of minced garlic,
tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper.
Mix,
and then add the rice and the cooked shrimp and mix thoroughly. Cook over low
heat, stirring constantly, about 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve.
To find any recipe featured this month - use the search box and type: JambMar
To find any theme recipe from this year type: recipe2018
For 2018 the monthly recipe themes will be:
January - Chicken Soup (ChickJan)
February - Beef Stew (StewFeb)
March - Jambalaya (JambMar)
April - Ham & Shrimp Dishes
May - Bread recipes
June - Garden Delights
July - Grilling
August - Salsa, Corn and Jelly
September - Squash Dishes
October - Pumpkin Recipes
November - Chili
December - Herbal Cocktails
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