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Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Cajun Cooking Class: Jambalaya



Not all Southern food is created equal. No no, wait a second, let me clarify lest I speak in error and give the wrong impression. Southern food is all equally good, it's just not all the same. (Well, OK, maybe Red Velvet Cake is universal... :-)

Cajun cooking, for example, is very Southern, naturally, but it also is really a cuisine all its own, full of unique spices and deep, mysterious flavors.

Now take me, a good Southern girl who grew up with general, mashed potatoes and gravy and hot fresh biscuits for breakfast Southern cooking, who then moves in with a nice Cajun guy. Of course, the first thing I do is set out to master Cajun cuisine. Easier said than done. Advice gleaned around town was vague and confusing at best...

The guy at the local grocery market said I must put file in gumbo. (First hearing this, I nodded, comforted - yes, this was as I'd thought.) Then my graduate school classmate told me "nah, you can just use okra - the okra thickens it enough on it's own. File and okra gumbo are really two separate things, ya know?"

No, I didn't know, and I was becoming rapidly more confused. Surveys of a few cookbooks revealed a tempting recipe for "Jambalaya," with a sausage and tomato base. Zach took a few bites, and remarked: "this is delicious, but this isn't Jambalaya. You never put tomato in Jambalaya." (I later learned, as the mist cleared, that tomato Jambalaya is a Creole dish, not Cajun.) My first time making gumbo I put in both file and okra for good measure, only to find out that Zach doesn't like okra. This was way back in the early days of our relationship, and I was about to enter into a tailspin - what was I to do if I was suddenly stumped by the elusiveness of Zach's grandmother's cooking?

Thankfully, somewhere along the line Zach managed to explain in one sentence what I hadn't yet managed to gather despite pages and pages of cookbook and internet research: "Gumbo, Jambalaya - all those dishes are all about just using what you have on hand."

Finally, I began to understand the method behind the cuisine that now fills our home. Hearty and satisfying, Cajun cooking is a way to nourish bodies, taste-buds, and longings for companionship, with whatever your pantry may hold. Elaborate or frugal, it is always plentiful - and always worth coming home.

Our Jambalaya

1/4 cup canola oil
1 lb. skinless chicken legs, with the meat removed from the bone and cut into 1" pieces OR 1 lb. tempeh cut into 1" cubes.
salt
black pepper
hot sauce
1/2 lb. jalapeño chicken sausage OR 1/2 lb. vegetarian "sausage style crumbles"
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced garlic
3 cups chicken stock OR vegetable stock
2 cups arborio rice, cooked in a rice cooker or according to package directions
1/8 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup chopped parsley

~ Season the chicken or tempeh with the salt, pepper, and hot sauce as desired. (Cajun cooking is spicy - pile on those seasonings, baby!)



~ In a 5 quart (or larger) dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Saute the chicken or tempeh until deeply golden brown.





~ Add the sausage or "sausage crumbles" and saute for 10 more minutes.




~ Add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic, and saute for 3 to 5 more minutes - until the onion and bell pepper are limp.



~ Add the stock, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.



~ Stir in the cooked rice, season again with salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste, and continue to simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed - around 30 minutes to an hour. (Make sure it's just simmering, otherwise the rice will stick - we usually have to reduce the heat to low.)
~ Stir in the chives and parsley, cook for 5 more minutes, and then... Jambalaya is served!


10 comments:

  1. there's ALWAYS variations of cooking-styles/dishes within a certain type of cuisine - and that's the beauty of cooking, in my opinion :0)

    Jamalaya?? YUM!! One of my favorite comfort dishes (veganized, of course, haha).

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  2. Jambalaya? Sounds Tibetan! So I've just learned a new word and a delicious looking one too. Cajun food must be fantastic. The music is also cool.

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  3. this dish looks so awesomely good! A must try, thank for the red velvet cake recipe too!

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  4. I just love everything about jambalaya, especially the fun-to-pronounce name :o)

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  5. Nice post! I have been wanting to explore more of the southern, Cajun, and creole cuisines. Jambalaya sounds nice and tasty.

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  6. This looks really tasty! I love jambalaya, although I always make it with okra and chicken sausage, which might actually be a bit of a bastardization of several southern dishes.

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  7. VeggieGirl, I couldn't agree more! (and Vegan Jambalaya rocks - whenever someone tells me that 'you just can't make Jambalaya vegan' I fix them the tempeh version of this recipe - YUM! Score one for vegan Jambalaya. :-)

    CookieMouse, you are so right - Cajun music is awesome, and so much fun for dancing!

    Big Boy's Oven, thank you! I'm delighted that you liked the red velvet cake too!!

    ChocolateCoveredVegan, it is an awesome word, isn't it? :-)

    Kevin, thank you so much! Ah, a wonderful, spicy world awaits you... :-)

    Erin, thank you so much for visiting! Your version sounds divine - chicken sausage and okra are always a good thing in my book! :-)

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  8. Well, this is one I must try--I'm getting hungry just looking at your recipe! And I think tempeh is my favorite soy product--I'm sure it's wonderful in this dish.

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  9. This looks sooo good - I have that song "Jambalaya" going through my head now ...

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  10. Ricki, Thank you so much! Tempeh is my favorite too! It's wonderful in Jambalaya - it actually gives a lovely depth to the dish that surpasses the meat version, in my opinion.

    CakeLaw, Many many thanks! *giggles* I was humming that song while I was typing this post! :-)

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