"There's a moon over Bourbon Street tonight. I see faces as they pass beneath the pale lamplight. I've no choice but to follow that call. The bright lights, the people, and the moon and all." -- Sting
During the month of July, I'm focusing on cajun/creole-inpired recipes and I think you'll agree with me that no such collection would be complete without at least one recipe for jambalaya.
While coming up with menu ideas for my wedding a couple of years ago here in Alaska, my mind wandered straight into Cajun country. There was a grand buffet, cooked up by me, my mother, and three friends. Red beans and rice, cornbread, barbecued pork, a pot of gumbo, and of course, a pot of jambalaya. I've never seen happier wedding guests as they practically floated off to their cars afterwards, bellies stuffed, arms loaded down with lovely leftovers.
Jambalaya devotees, no doubt, will be familiar with the fact that there are two primary methods of making jambalaya:
You have your Creole method: add meat to the pot, then vegetables and tomatoes, then seafood, then rice and stock, let simmer and don't stir it unless you have to.
And then you have your Cajun method: brown meat in a cast-iron pot, add in the holy trinity, no tomatoes, please, then add stock and seasonings, cover and simmer simmer simmer for an hour or so, bring to a boil and add rice, then simmer simmer simmer without stirring till rice is cooked.
I poured over a bunch of jambalaya recipes posted at Emeril's site and finally settled on making a modified version of this recipe. Because I am neither Cajun nor Creole, I played the role of irreverent iconoclast, giving a nod to each culture and it turned out just divine. My recipe doesn't stick to either of the primary methods of cooking jambalaya but as long as I don't have a jambalaya connoisseur at my table, the people I feed should be none the wiser.
And I think the leftovers will taste even better tomorrow.
Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya
1 T olive oil
2 oz. tasso (If you can find it. If not, you can use a little bacon. I chopped up a few slices of salami.)
One link of chorizo or smoked sausage, chopped
1/2 c chopped onion
1/4 t salt (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 serrano pepper, seeded and diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 t fresh parsley, finely chopped
6 c chicken broth
1 can black eyed peas
1 1/2 cups rice (I used arborio)
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
1/4 c green onions, chopped
In a large heavy pot over medium heat, add olive oil and once hot, add sausages and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in onion, garlic, serrano pepper, celery, green pepper, bay leaves, thyme, and parsley. Saute for 5 minutes or so until onions soften. Stir in broth and peas. Bring liquid to a boil then stir in rice. Lower heat and simmer for half an hour or so until rice is tender. Add shrimp and cook just until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Serve with green onions sprinkled on top.
Update: the leftovers really are better the next day. And the next day. For a real treat, top a bowl of this jambalaya with a square of the baked cheese grits I wrote about here.
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