Winter has arrived in Northwest Ohio and it is making me want hearty, comforting dishes. I have also been on a mission to use up all kinds of leftover food we have in the refrigerator and freezer.   I am trying to keep in mind that it’s the season of lightening things up after eating too much sugar and fatty foods during the Holidays.  Last week we used up the trimmings from a whole beef tenderloin we had in the freezer. I ground the meat with parsley, onion, salt, pepper and an egg to make wonderful fancy hamburgers.  We had that with a lovely tabouleh made with Amarenth.  It’s definitely more “gummy” than bulgar wheat but it was a nice change and is very healthy.  The burgers were still not as fatty as regular ground beef so they were not really as decadent as a regular hamburger, but they were delicious and a little better for us.  We also had a delicious ham, broccoli and egg frittata with the last of our honey baked ham.  The leftovers were great for another breakfast. Last night we decided on another cajun style dish (like the barbecued shrimp just posted last week) – chicken and seafood jambalaya.

Jambalaya is an ultimate comfort food.  It really does warm you inside and out…the heat from several peppers in the seasoning mix will ofen get us sweating from the heat as our stomachs are warmed from the temperature of the dish too.  It’s a one pot meal that requires some prep, but finishes baked in the oven or simmering on the stovetop.  You can easily make substitutions without any loss of quality or flavor.  It is good soupy, or fairly dry.  You can also make a  creole sauce to fancy it up a bit to serve to guests.  It is often one I use leftover ham for – but this time I had some polish smoked sausage that I was trying to use up.  I had about a half pound of shrimp, some chopped green pepper, and a package of boneless chicken thighs in the freezer that needed to be used too.  The remaining ingredients we just had in the pantry or fridge.  Dave actually helped me prep all the ingredients and was the stirrer while I completed the prep so it was a really easy meal to make last night before sitting in front of the fireplace eating the jambalaya and watching playoff football.

seasoning mix with chopped chicken

I bet the whole meal took an hour to complete start to finish. The original recipe hails from Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen cookbook.  I definitely made a few substitutions last night but my recipe will show the original with notations on options to change or sub.  It is always best to begin by placing all of the seasoning mix into a small bowl or ramekin.  This saves a lot of time when you are in the process of adding and stirring ingredients into the pot.  It also helps to do all of your chopping and cutting ahead.  In this case, the onion, celery and green pepper, garlic, chicken, sausage and ham need to be prepared ahead.  The shrimp can be defrosted in cold water in about a half hour – I  was able to get all else done, then peel and cut the shrimp in time to add them at the very end.  Last night I did not add any ham but I had a pound of chicken instead of 3 ounces called for in the recipe. The size of your chopped meat is purely up to you.  I tend to chop smaller but Dave likes bigger chunks.

The recipe also calls for 4 fresh, chopped and peeled tomatoes and 3/4 canned tomato sauce.  I just used a large 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes and cut back on some of the chicken broth in our batch last night.  The jambalaya was a bit more red or tomatoey than normal, but it stayed a bit more saucy than usual too – and I did not feel any need to make creole sauce. I also skipped the green onion and the oysters last night.

sausage and vegetables sauteeing in the bacon fat

Other unique items to the recipe are the chicken fat, pork lard or beef fat used to fry and crisp up the ham and sausage – then cook the vegetables.  You can easily just use a vegetable oil – but I typically used bacon fat that I save when making bacon.  I have one container in the refrigerator dedicated to the bacon fat.  I learned this trick from my grandmother Kern.  It adds a nice smokey flavor to many dishes – you just pour the drippings from your fry pan after cooking bacon into the container that has a good seal and it will solidify and stay fresh for a long time if refrigerated properly  – for years, in fact! Last, if you like oysters, you can substitute canned oysters.  I do not particularly love canned oysters but they will suffice if you can’t get fresh.

chicken, tomato and broth added

The recipe calls for pouring the entire mixture into a baking pan and covering it tightly with foil.  I prefer to just keep it in the dutch oven (I have a le Creuset with a very heavy lid) – as long as it has a tight fitting lid, I think this is preferred.  The pan is already hot and keeps the dish cooking better.  Whenever I pour it into a smaller baking pan it never cooks in the 30 minutes as directed.  Last night I just kept it on the stovetop to avoid turning on the oven.  We did have to stir it every 10 minutes or so and I added a bit more liquid to keep it loose and to help prevent it from sticking.

Chicken and Seafood Jambalaya

Makes 4 main dish or 8 appetizer servings

Prep time is about 30 minutes. Cook time is about another 30 minutes too.

Ingredients

Seasoning mix:  2 whole bay leaves

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground red pepper -(I usually use 3/4 to 1 tsp only -the full amount makes it really HOT!)

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/4 tsp white pepper

1 tsp. black pepper

3/4 tsp dried thyme

 

2 1/2 Tbs. chicken fat, pork lard, beef fat (or I use bacon fat)

2/3 cup chopped tasso – or other country ham – about 3 ounces

1/2 cup chopped andouille smoked sausage or other good pure smoked pork sausage like kielbasa or polish sausage – about 3 ounces (I almost always use 8 to 16 ounces)

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chicken cut into bite size pieces – about 3 ounces (I used a whole pound)

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

4 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and chopped

3/4 cup canned tomato sauce (I used one 28 ounce jar of crushed tomatoes in place of the fresh and canned sauce –  a 15 oz jar of diced tomatoes would work too)

2 cups basic seafood or chicken stock

1/2 cup green onions

2 cups uncooked rice

1 1/2 dozen medium shrimp – about 1/2 pound (I cut them in half or into thirds)

1 1/2 dozen oysters in their liquor  – about 10 ounces

 

Instructions

Combine the seasoning mix ingredients into a small bowl and set aside.

In a 4 quart saucepan or heavy dutch oven, melt the fat over medium high heat.  Add the tasso and andouille and saute until crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the onions, celery and peppers; saute until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes.  Stir occasionally and scrap the bottom well.  Add the chicken.  Raise heat to high and cook 1 minute stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add the seasoning mix and garlic.  Cook about 3 minutes, stirring constantly and scaping pan bottom as needed.

Add the tomatoes and cook until chicken is tender, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the tomato sauce; cook 7 minutes, stirring fairly often.  Stir in the stock and bring to a boil.  Then stir in green onions and cook 2 more minutes.  Add the rice,  shrimp and oysters stirring well to incorporate into the sauce.  Either cover with a tight lid – or place into an ungreased 8 x 8 inch baking pan.  Cover pan snugly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until rice is tender but still a little bit crunchy. Alternatively, you can simmer this on the stove.  It will require a stir every 5-10 minutes as the rice will stick on the bottom of the pan.  If simmering on the stove, I prefer to add the seafood 5-10 minutes before the jambalaya is done.

If the rice appears to be too dry, you can easily add more stock or water, a little at a time.

Serve jambalaya mounded in a bowl or plate with creole sauce if desired.

Notes

Recipe from Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen cookbook, copyright 1984