Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

It's another month of Pass the Cook Book Club! This month is hosted by Kita from Pass the Sushi, and she chose the book Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. This is a special cook book because it's a collection of recipes that was put together after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 where not only did folks lose precious heirlooms, but they lost family recipes.

Kita chose three wonderful recipes from this cook book: chicken and sausage jambalaya, crawfish in saffron cream, and bananas foster pie. I was torn between the pie and the jambalaya, but the jambalaya won in the end because I figured that it would be a great meal to make on a Sunday so that it would give us leftovers during the week. Because of work and school, it's not always easy for me to get a good meal on the table and this meal gave us plenty of leftovers! I do still want to make the pie in the future because it sounds wonderful!

This jambalaya is a basic jambalaya that you can use as a base to create your own version. Because this was my first time making jambalaya (that wasn't from a box), I decided to stick to the recipe. The only revisions I would make in the future would be 1) make sure to use white long grain rice -- I used brown basmati and it took over an hour to cook, 2) add more parsley, 3) complete the trinity with celery (usually contains onion, bell pepper, and celery in Louisiana cuisine), and 4) make sure to use andouille sausage instead of kielbasa because it lacked some spice with the kielbasa. You can certainly add more Cajun or Creole spices if you'd like too, and you can add shrimp to the top of the rice about 5-10 minutes before the rice finishes cooking.

If you'd like a great one pot recipe that serves several people or makes leftovers, give this recipe a try!

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Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
From Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans

2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 lbs total, cut into 1” cubes
1 1/2 tsp. Creole or Cajun seasoning
1/2 lb. smoked sausage or kielbasa, like andouille, sliced ¼” thick
1 1/2 c. yellow onion, chopped
1 c. green pepper, chopped
3 c. water
1 Tbs. tomato paste
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs. chopped green onions, greens only
1 1/2 c. long grain rice

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven.

Season the chicken with Cajun seasoning. Add the chicken to the pot and cook, stirring, over medium heat until evenly brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the sausage and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the onions and peppers and cook, stirring, until softened and golden, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the water, tomato paste, parsley, and green onions. Stir and bring to a boil.

Add the rice, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid, 15 to 20 minutes. Do not stir!

Fluff the mixture with fork before serving.