Spicy jambalaya recipe

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 6 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #1,365 in Food, #21,978 overall

Creole-Cajun mixed jambalaya

Try out this delicious and spicy jambalaya recipe, which combines elements from both the Louisiana Creole and the Cajun versions.

Jambalaya is a spiced up New World variation on paella, and this tasty dish contains chicken, bacon and chorizo, and also tiger prawns. Spiced up with paprika, Cajun spices and jalapeno chili peppers. Delicious!

Introduction 

Jambalaya - a family of recipes

Jambalaya is a recipe I've been cooking since 1994. It's also something which I seem to cook differently every time, and if you search around the internet, you will find dozens of different variations on this spicy rice dish.

It is a Louisiana Creole recipe based on paella, and cooked in one pot, meat, vegetables and rice together. The Cajun version doesn't contain tomatoes.

The recipe here mixes influences from both styles, using chilies and Cajun spices, but also including the tomatoes. The traditional versions use celery, which I didn't include here, but of course, you can add it when you try out the recipe yourself!

Ingredients 

olive oil
3 chicken thigh fillets, cut into strips
1 red onion
3 rashers bacon, chopped
75g chorizo sausage, chopped
1 small red bell pepper
1 small green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 jalapeno chilies, chopped
1 tsp paprika powder
3 tsp Cajun spice mixture
1 cup rice
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
pinch of saffron soaked in 1 tbsp warm water
12 tiger prawns

Cooking the chicken 

Cook in batches

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and cook the chicken in batches for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Don't be tempted to cook all the chicken at the same time, as the moisture released can cause the chicken to poach, rather than fry and brown.

Remove the chicken, and keep it warm.

Cooking the red onion 

And the bacon and chorizo

Add the onions to the pan and cook for a few minutes until softened, and then add the bacon and chorizo sausage.

Continue cooking for 5 minutes until browned.

Adding the bell peppers 

And garlic, chilies and spices

Once the onion, bacon and chorizo are nicely browned, add the red and green bell peppers and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Then add the chilies, garlic, paprika and Cajun spice mixture.

Continue cooking for a further 2 minutes.

Now add the rice 

Tomatoes and stock

Add the rice and stir it into the mixture.

Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and saffron mixture.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Add the chicken and prawns 

Completing the dish

Finally add the prawns and previously cooked chicken, stir to mix all the ingredients, cover, and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the rice is done.

And that's it. Jambalaya...done!

Cajun cooking 

Cajun-Creole Cooking

Amazon Price: (as of 12/28/2009) Buy Now

Good Time Eatin' in Cajun Country: Cajun Vegetarian Cooking (Healthy World Cuisine)

Amazon Price: $9.56 (as of 12/28/2009) Buy Now

Cooking in Cajun Country

Amazon Price: $13.25 (as of 12/28/2009) Buy Now

Do you like Cajun cookery? 

Talk about your favorite recipes

submit

 

by ArtSiren

Hi! I'm ArtSiren from England. I'm interested in art in all its forms: art, writing, literature, music, martial and healing arts. In fact, I'm interes... (more)

Explore related pages

Create a Lens!