I'm a big fan of Cajun food and a good jambalaya is always a great meal. Over the last month or so, I've been researching jambalaya recipes and put together one of my own. I have been making and tweaking this recipe for the last four weeks straight and am very happy with how it tastes now, so I'm going to share it. It's "Five for Flamin'" due to how much cayenne pepper I add, which is around 2 teapsoons (I think, LOL), so it comes out quite spicy hot. However, the cayenne is added at the end, so one can only add as much as they wish. This recipe is actually surprising easy to make and doesn't take much time. It makes 8 hearty servings. Schwing!
Ingredients
24 medium to large shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut into thirds
8 ounces boneless chicken breast, diced
12 ounces andouille sausage links, sliced in half lengthwise and then cut into half moons
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped,
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 tablespoons garlic, chopped
2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes (with jalapeno if available)
6 bay leaves
6 cups low sodium chicken stock
4 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
two teaspoons hot sauce
1 3/4 cups long grain rice
ground cayenne pepper
salt
black pepper
Directions
In a mixing bowl, combine the shrimp, chicken and Cajun seasoning working in the seasoning well. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the celery and allow to sweat for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and onion and cook 5 more minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Let cook for 1 minute while stirring to mix well. Stir in rice and then slowly add the chicken broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs the liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally but careful not to over stir, about 15 minutes. When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and andouilli sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately and enjoy!
