COOK-WITH-WHAT-YOU-HAVE JAMBALAYA

Jambalaya is the beloved Cajun rice, meat and vegetable dish from New Orleans. It has West African, Spanish and French roots and is a savory pot of goodness. My in-authentic version uses more vegetables and only andouille sausage or kielbasa. It’s a stunning one-pot meal that is delicious on days two and three so all the chopping is time well spent. You can also skip the meat for a vegetarian version that still packs in lots of flavor.

I make my own Cajun seasoning spice mix, see below, with spices I keep on hand but feel free to use a pre-made mix if you that’s what you have.

Ingredients:

Cajun Spice Mix:

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons paprika (either smoked or not)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or 1/4 if you’re sensitive to heat)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Stir together in a small bowl. You should have about 2 Tablespoons of spice mix, all of which you will use.

For the Jambalaya

2 tablespoons Cajun spice mix (above–or whatever similar mix you have though this is on the milder side so if you’re using a different mix you might start with less, 1- 1 1/2 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon oil

12 – 16 ounces andouille or kielbasa or sausage of your choice, sliced into rounds

1 onion, diced

1 large red pepper, diced (you can substitute any sweet or semi-hot fresh pepper here like, Jimmy Nardello, Poblano, Anaheim (though watch the heat level), about 1 1/2 cups

1 fresh jalapeno or other hot pepper, minced (optionall) (remove seeds and membranes to reduce heat)

2 stalks celery, finely diced (I’ve used a bunch of parsley stems when I didn’t have celery which works fine!)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 medium cabbage (savory or regular green), finely chopped, about 5 cups

1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes or 2 cups juicy fresh tomatoes, diced (with all their juice)

1 1/2 cups white rice (brown works too but you’ll need to cook it longer and use an additional 2/3 cup of broth)

2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth or water

Parsley and green onion tops, chopped, for serving

Favorite hot sauce, for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or other heavy lidded pot. Add the sausage and half the Cajun seasoning and mix well and cook the sausage for about 5-7 minutes until nicely brown and fragrant. Turn down the heat if the spices seem to be burning. Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside in a bowl. Leave all the oil and rendered fat in the pan.

2. Add the onions, peppers and celery to the pan and saute over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until soft and fragrant, stirring often. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, remainder of Cajun spice mix and cook for another minute.

3. Add the cabbage, browned sausage and tomatoes and combine well. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add the rice and chicken broth and stir well. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn down to medium-low and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Let sit for a few minutes off the heat then serve, generously topped with fresh parsley and green onion tops and hot sauce, if you’d like.

Leftovers are excellent and will keep, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 4 days.