Jambalaya – Gluten Free Suggestions

Whew, finally catching up with my recipes. This recipe, was made on Tuesday, last week for Mardi Gras. I love cooking themed meals! It allows you to be so creative and to try new foods.  So, I decided that I would do a Mardi Gras, themed dinner, for Fat Tuesday. I was especially excited because my mother and grandmother, were coming to visit and would be joining us for dinner!  As you probably guessed, having my mother and grandmother over for a visit, meant lots of housework, along with the cooking. I decided on Jambalaya, because it was a one-pot meal that was very easy to cook and to clean. I served it with some fruit on the side and it made a very hearty meal. For dessert, I made King Cake, another relatively leave a lone type of dessert. (Recipe tomorrow).

Jambalaya, is a Louisiana Creole dish with Spanish and French Influence. It traditionally has three parts: Meat and Vegetables, Stock and Rice. It is similar to paella. There are two types of Jambalaya. The “Red,” which contains tomato and often seafood and the “Brown,” which contains no tomatoes and chicken and sausage. I decided to go for the Brown Jambalaya (mainly because I didn’t feel like cleaning a lot of shrimp). I used chicken thighs and because my mother, grandmother and I are not fans of strong flavored sausages, I used chicken sausage, instead of andouille.  I also used brown rice, instead of white (taste and health preference). You may get a bit nervous, at the end of the cooking time, about the amount of liquid in the pot. Once you finish the cooking time, the resting time allows all the rice to soak up the liquid making the jambalaya come together.  So remember, let the jambalaya rest at least 30 minutes before serving.

"Brown" Jambalaya

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 cups of onions, diced

2 cups of bell peppers (green and yellow), diced

2 cups of rice

2 tablespoons of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne

2 teaspoons of dried thyme

5 cups of chicken stock

2 cups of raw chicken, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup of sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces

salt and pepper to taste

Parsley leaved to garnish

Directions:

1. Saute onions with olive oil, until onions start to brown
2. Add bell peppers, salt and pepper and sausage to the onions. Break up the sausage, as much as possible.
3. Add chicken and allow it to cook
4. Add rice, garlic, cayenne powder, thyme and stock and bring to a boil
5. Once the jambalaya is boiling, cover and lower the heat to a simmer
6. Cook for about 35-40 minutes or until rice is cooked
7. Allow Jambalaya to rest for at least 30 minutes, so that the liquids are all absorbed
8. Garnish with parsley