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Ok, I know what you’re thinking. The featured photo just does not do this dish justice. Forgive me, it was so good, that I forgot to take a pic of the plate. I had finished eating before I even thought about it! It’s that good!
As y’all know by now, I’ve been teaching my middle son to cook. With my Louisiana heritage, I would be doing him a great disservice if I didn’t make sure to teach him how to make all of the delicious foods I was raised on, & he was so excited when I told him we’d be making jambalaya!
As always, you first want to gather all of your ingredients. When made my shopping trip that week, I was sure we had onions at home & didn’t buy any, turns out I was wrong. BUT, I did have dried minced onion on hand, so we substituted a half a cup of those for the one onion we needed. It worked perfectly!
You will need:
12oz sliced okra (fresh or frozen & thawed)
Red, orange, & yellow bell peppers- 1/2 of each
1 whole green bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion or 1/2 cup dried minced onion
1 large jalapeno
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, sliced
14oz crushed tomatoes (I LOVE the fire roasted ones!!)
1/2 cup vinegar
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. Creole seasoning (Tony’s is my fave!!)
1 tsp dried marjoram or thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (1/4 if you want less heat)
2 bay leaves
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced (my son gets a strange pleasure out of cutting up the raw meat, lol)
1 lb andouille sausage, halved & sliced
1 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
Kosher salt & fresh cracked peppercorn medley
Garnishes: green onions, flat leaf parsley, lemon zest (optional, but trust me! lol)
First thing’s first, you’ve GOT to cook the slime out of your okra! Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Rinse okra with vinegar, then sautee in oil for about 10 minutes. Then grab a large stock pot (this is the one we used) or dutch oven & heat another tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken & sausage, & cook until chicken is fully cooked, about 7 minutes, then remove meats from the pan.
Add two more tbsp. of oil to the pan, then add all of your vegetables except the okra, & sautee about six minutes. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock, rice, seasonings (except the salt & pepper), cooked meats, & bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, then cover & simmer 25-30 minutes. Stir every 5-10 minutes to keep rice from sticking & burning on the bottom. Stir in shrimp & okra, & simmer until shrimp are fully pink, then remove the bay leaves.
Season with kosher salt & cracked peppercorn medley to taste, & add garnishes. I happened to have some chopped flat leaf parsley mixed with lemon zest on hand from the meal I had prepared the night before, so I thought the lemon zest would add a surprise flavor to it. This pic, however, is before the salt, pepper, & garnishes, because my boys were apparently “starving” & impatient, even the one helping to cook, & we forgot to do that before serving plates. It was DELICIOUS, both before & after adding the salt & pepper & garnishes. The light hint of lemon was a very nice touch! Just remember not to use to much 😉
As always, keep scrolling for the formatted recipe… One of these days I promise, I’ll learn how to include one that you can easily print without copying & pasting!
-Walking by Faith & Cooking up Some Cajun Blessings, Gerri
Perfect Jambalaya
Ingredients:
12oz sliced okra (fresh or frozen & thawed)
Red, orange, & yellow bell peppers- 1/2 of each
1 whole green bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion or 1/2 cup dried minced onion
1 large jalapeno
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, sliced
14oz crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup vinegar
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. Creole seasoning
1 tsp dried marjoram or thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (1/4 if you want less heat)
2 bay leaves
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1 lb andouille sausage, halved & sliced
1 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
Kosher salt & fresh cracked peppercorn medley
Garnishes: green onions, flat leaf parsley, lemon zest
Steps:
Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Rinse okra with vinegar, then sautee in oil for about 10 minutes. Heat another tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Add chicken & sausage, & cook until chicken is fully cooked, about 7 minutes, then remove meats from the pan.
Add two more tbsp. of oil to the pan, then add all of your vegetables except the okra, & sautee about six minutes. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock, rice, seasonings (except the salt & pepper), cooked meats, & bring to a simmer.
Reduce heat, then cover & simmer 25-30 minutes. Stir every 5-10 minutes to keep rice from sticking & burning on the bottom. Stir in shrimp & okra, & simmer until shrimp are fully pink, then remove the bay leaves.
Season with kosher salt & cracked peppercorn medley to taste, & serve with your desired garnishes.
