Jambalaya: even the name of the dish is tasty! My version with chicken, sausage and prawns is made far from New Orleans but truly and deliciously Creole.
Rice with things
Rice dishes are gorgeous all over the world. From Indonesian nasi goreng and Chinese fried rice, Korean bibimbap and Indian biryani, through Middle Eastern pilau and tahchin, Italian risotto, Spanish paella and arroz negro, we can go all the way across the ocean to Mexican rice and jambalaya.
With all respect, all those dishes can go under the umbrella of ‘rice with things’, as infamously slung at Jamie Oliver, and I think it is one of my absolutely favourite kinds of dish.
Cooking methods vary, with Italian risottos possibly the most annoyingly laborious. But generally speaking, it’s easier to cook rice with things than perfect rice on its own (unless you own a rice cooker). Why? No idea, perhaps rice is companionable and gets cooked happier in company? And who can blame it?
Origin of jambalaya
What happens when you mix paella with jollof rice and add sausage made of tripe? Jambalaya! The origins of the dish are certainly a combo of Spanish, West African and French. Those influences melted and merged around Louisiana, producing roughly two types of jambalaya: Creole and Cajun.
The main difference is the presence (Creole) or absence (Cajun) of tomatoes in the pot, because the seasoning is similar. Cajun spice tends to be a little more peppery and Creole – herby, but even purists don’t insist on a hard line. So mine leans towards Creole, which incidentally is considered slightly posher. It figures. I'm a snob.
Essential ingredients
Jambalaya base is the Creole ‘holy trinity’ of finely chopped celery, pepper and onion. It is the equivalent of Spanish sofrito or French mirepoix, the vegetable base for sauce or casserole.
Then in go the tomatoes or none, the seasoning blend, bay leaves and hot sauce and rice, of course. White rice is common but as my preference is always for brown, this is what I’m using. The only difference is in cooking time: almost twice as long.
The meats and seafood contents vary, with prawns, chicken, bacon appearing often, but one ingredient is non-negotiable for purists: French in origin andouille sausage.
It is a peculiar product and I don’t believe modern day andouille sausages sold in US really are pig intestine filled with tripe, if only because it sounds pretty off-putting to a modern American taste. But that’s what the traditional sausage was, and in France it still is. And I can say, having tried it, it’s really much nicer than it sounds.
But alas! neither the French nor Louisiana version is easily available in UK, so the closest substitute will be any continental smoked pork sausage, like chorizo or Polish kielbasa. Both my main recipe sources, Serious Eats and The Guardian suggest that.
How to cook jambalaya
And then we’re off, and it is really easy once all the fine chopping is done.
To get the right amount of liquid, drain the tomatoes into a jug leaving only solid chunks on the sieve. Tomato juice can now be topped with stock to make up half a litre needed for 200g/1 cup of well-rinsed rice.
You can use boneless chicken thighs but bone means flavour, so I prefer to brown them whole, let them cool and then cut the meat off the bones.
In the meantime we’re building flavours in an ovenproof pan, cast iron or similar, by browning sausage, then adding the celery, onion et al and cooking for a while to soften.
All the spices will go in next, to toast and become fragrant, followed by everything else including the liquid, except rice which will go in when the pot contents are simmering.
Stir it once and transfer to the oven, covered tightly with a lid. For brown rice it will take about an hour and a half to cook, and for white basmati – about 45 minutes.
When the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed, gently stir in the prawns and give them five minutes more oven time, and that’s that. Let your jambalaya rest for a few minutes out of the oven before serving and enjoying.
More Creole recipes
The best and the easiest pulled pork with smoked paprika rub, seared and flambéed on the hob followed by slow braising in the oven. Perfect for amazing tacos, sandwiches and pasta or rice topping.
Easy chicken Creole with chicken breast chunks and homemade Creole seasoning; best served with rice or plain tortilla chips.
Prawn étouffée for two served with plain rice is my signature special main dish these days. Easy sauce base and roux, and homemade Creole seasoning recipe included.
More Southern rice recipes
Charleston red rice is a wonderful dish of oven baked rice with bacon and tomato purée, flavoured with Cajun seasoning. A descendant of West African jollof rice, this dish is older than the United States!
Easy dirty rice with minced pork and homemade Creole seasoning, a bomb of flavours and a healthy main course ready in about 40 minutes.
Pink Mexican rice, arroz rojo, is easy and incredibly tasty. Spicy restaurant style Mexican rice is cooked like pilaf, with tomato and onion puree for the colour, chillies for the heat and diced potato and carrot for the texture.