Jambalaya. The very word evokes hot nights on the bayou, fiddle music, and cold beer. Ever since I first visited New Orleans almost 20 years ago, I can’t get enough of this stuff. It’s the rice/andouille/tomatoes/cayenne thing. And the shrimp.
This recipe comes to me from Tiffany, who made this for a boudin party (that’s a separate post) we had at my house (new kitchen means I want to cook all the things, and those for which I have no recipes, I want other people to make in my kitchen).
Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya
1 medium onion, quartered
1 stalk celery, quartered
1 red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp. vegetable oil
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
12 oz. andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices and halved
1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained (reserve 1/4 cup juice )
1 cup bottled clam juice
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1-1/2 lbs. shrimp (31-40 count), peeled and deveined
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
Combine the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until chopped fine.
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pot, skin-side down, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook until golden brown on the opposite side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the andouille. Cook, stirring often, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Lower the heat to medium-low and add the chopped vegetables to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 4 minutes. Add the rice, salt, thyme and cayenne; cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is coated with the fat, about 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, reserved tomato juice, clam juice, chicken broth, bay leaves and cooked sausage to the pot. Stir to combine.
Remove the skin from the chicken pieces and place the chicken on the rice so that the side the skin was just removed from is now facing down. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Stir once, keeping the chicken in the same general position, and continue to simmer until the chicken is no longer pink inside, about 10 minutes more.
Transfer the chicken to a clean plate or cutting board and set aside. Scatter the shrimp over the rice, cover, and continue to cook until the rice is fully tender and the shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
While the shrimp are cooking, shred the chicken. Once the shrimp are finished cooking, discard the bay leaves, stir in the chicken and parsley, and serve immediately.
#BecauseYum
Aphrodite's Hearth 