Jambulaya (?spelling)

[Mitchdoggy]

Does anyone have a favorite recipe for Jambulya? I have several people coming over for dinner.

[Wendy w]

I believe that someone posted a thread a few weeks ago on this subject so you may want to look it up. I also have a great jambalaya recipe that I can look for at home.

Wendy

[Ralph]

Here's the link to the thread Wendy mentioned: http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/001413.html
Of course, I'm rather partial to my recipe! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[KimKelly]

Mitch... I got this one from the Epicurious site, it was very good. My husband who is fairly picky about Jambalaya loved it! I included the notes that people (including myself) posted. Hope you like it!

Kim

LOUISIANA JAMBALAYA

97% would make it again









1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 red onions, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 jalapeño chili, finely chopped with seeds
1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound andouille sausage or hot Italian sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 pound ham, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 14 1/2-ounce cans chicken broth
1 16-ounce can plum tomatoes, diced, with liquid
3 cups long-grain rice

Melt butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add red onions, 4 green onion, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, jalapeño, Creole Seasoning, cayenne pepper and oregano. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Mix in tomato paste. Add sausage, ham, broth, tomatoes and rice. Bring mixture to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Garnish with remaining green onion and serve.

Serves 10.


Bon Appétit
March 1992
Stacy L. Callahan: Pasadena, California






Rob ( propwash1@earthlink.net ) from The Republic of Texas on 10/30/00
My mom learned how to cook cajun in order to satisfy my dads need for his native south Louisiana cuisine...and she learned it from HIS mom. As a result we kiddos were raised on the real stuff, and know it when we taste. This recipe was simply outstanding. Ya'll try this trick. Make up a batch...then stuff your T-Day turkey with it. Talk about good !! Hooooo-boy. It's a keeper for sure !! You'll never go back to bread stuffing again. I gau-rooon-teee.

Angel Rutsch ( angel_c_97@yahoo.com ) from Frederick, MD on 10/21/00
I decreased the ham and added a pound of crab claws, 3/4 pound of shrimp, a habanero pepper and about 1/2 a cup of Merlot. A sliced baguette and garnishment of steamed crawfish! A perfect meal! Fed four adults (twice) and still had enough left over for lunch the next day! Yum!

mark ( takme2blgm@aol.com ) from Buffalo, NY on 10/18/00
This makes a lot of jambalaya! Being on a low-fat diet due to a recent heart attack, I used non-stick spray with just a little butter and chicken breast and turkey sausage instead. I did add more tomato juice and paste as it cooked. The dish got great reviews! I have been to New Orleans and had "authentic" jambalaya; in fact the seasoning I used was bought there. This jambalaya compared well.

Kim ( drmnofmaui@aol.com ) from San Diego, CA on 10/08/00
We really liked this Jambalaya. I substituted chicken for the ham, and also added some shrimp at the end. My schedule did not work for me to cook the rice in the dish, so I just served it over the top of rice. We made some to freeze for those "I just don't feel like cooking" days!

mitch fuqua ( fuqua@accucomm.net ) from midway between Atlanta & Savannah, GA on 10/08/00
Dogs loved crunchy rice in gum from 1st try. Next tried "common sense",(2 cups dry white wine & 4 cups boiling water). Brought to good boil before simmering for hour & half. Also completed "Cajun Trinity" of onions, bell peppers & 5 stalks chopped celery. Now that's Jambalaya! As said in the French Quarter, "C'est magnifique!"

[Wendy w]

Mitch,

I brought my recipe to work today, but I have to go to an all morning meeting and will post it during my lunch hour.

Wendy

[Wendy w]

Jambalaya

Seasoning mix:
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
12 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb. smoked polish sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 cans (6.5 oz) chopped clams
3 chopped green onions
1/2 lb. shrimp, cleaned
1/2 lb. scallops

Heat olive oil in the bottom of large pot. Add sausage and chicken and cook over high heat until browned, stirring frequently. Add onions, celery, and bell pepper and cook for about five minutes, scraping bottom of pot well to prevent sticking. Add seasoning mix and chopped garlic. Cook for three to five minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Add tomatoes and cook until simmering, then add clams in their juice and green onions. Simmer for at least five minutes. Just before serving, add shrimp and scallops. Serve over white rice.

This recipe was given to me by a very old friend and always comes out excellent. My friend notes that how many people this serves depends on their "capacity" and "appetite" and should be served with something cold to drink. Her definition is beer! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/cool.gif

Enjoy!

Wendy

[Gail]

Originally posted by Wendy w:
Jambalaya

...12 teaspoon white pepper...


Is this a peppery little devil or did you make a typo? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif

[emilycat]

Oh, Phoebe! (Or anyone else who might know http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif ) I love jambalaya, but I don't eat sausage or ham. Do you think seitan or tempeh would work here in substitution of the meat?
Em

[Wendy w]

Ok Gail, you caught me!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif

CORRECTION: 1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper

Thanks Gail!!

Wendy

[venus]

I love jambalaya and I think seitan would be awesome--especially the spicy kind.

This thread is making me hungry...

[Ohioan]

Em and Venus, I honestly don't know what would be a good substitute for sausage and ham in jambalaya; if anyone else knows, please tell me, because I used to love jambalaya!

I suppose you could use veggie sausage, but it tends to get rubbery with a lot of cooking. Maybe the baked marinated tofu that comes ready seasoned in plastic packages?

Whoops, another idea suddenly occurs to me. Sometimes I simulate sausage flavor in my tomato sauce by adding fennel seeds and extra black pepper to the sauce while it cooks. So maybe just putting in the andouille sausage spices would do the trick in jambalaya? Penzey's has a lot of spice blends for making sausage; maybe one of them would help us simulate sausage. As for the "chew" of the sausage, I guess any chewy substance would do: seitan, TVP, tempeh, etc.

Anyone game to try this???? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

Cheers, Phoebe

[lorilei]

Phoebe -

I usually use spicey vegetarian sausage if I am making vegetarian jumbalaya (or spicey seitan)... to keep it from getting rubbery, I always add it during the last bit of cooking, rather than letting it sit in the jumbalaya the whole time. My husband (a relatively devoted meat eater) thinks this substitution is just swell http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[emilycat]

Lorilei,
what brand of veggie sausage do you use? I've heard that some are good, while others, well, just don't cut it.
Phoebe, I've used seitan and tempeh, but not textured vegetable protein. Is there a particular brand that's best? Does it come crumbled, or what?

[BetsyF]

I know that traditional jambalaya reciipes call for white rice, but years ago I had one served with brown rice. Loved it, so have all my family and friends since then. I don't really use a recipe for this, just onions, peppers, tomatoes, shrimp, sausage, and seasonings. Trader Joes' seafood grill and broil mixture is good if there is a TJ's in your area.

[Ohioan]

Emilycat, there are a couple of threads on TVP around here, including this one: http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/001093.html

TVP comes in crumbles, chunks and "strips," and you can probably find it in your local health food store or the health food section of your supermarket. There are a couple of brands, including Worthington Foods. I had some from Dixie Diner (mail order), and it was pretty good in thickening up a sauce (we do remember that when anyone in my family says "a sauce" we mean a tomato sauce? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif), but somehow I just didn't get in the habit of using it much, and I finally scuttled it and went back to using tofu and my beans and grains.

Lorilei, I too would be interested in knowing which veggie sausage you've found tasty. I did kind of like the Gardenburger patties that I tried once, except that I overcooked them last time and wound up with rubber. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif But I didn't care for the Lightlife Italian sausage or the Tofu Pups. Any suggestions?

Cheers, Phoebe

[Gail]

SHRIMP AND HAM JAMBALAYA

2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup short-grain white rice
2 pounds shrimp
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 pound can tomatoes, chopped (preferably Italian Plum tomatoes)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
3/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground red hot pepper
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound cooked lean smoked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Cook rice in boiling salted water, simmering for 20 minutes or until rice has absorbed liquid. Fluff, cover, and set aside.
Cook shrimp, shell and set aside.
Melt butter over moderate heat in heavy casserole. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft but not brown. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and stir over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Add celery, green pepper, parsley, cloves, thyme, red pepper, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stirring frequently, cook uncovered over moderate heat until the vegetables are tender and the mixutre is thick enough to hold its shape lightly in the spoon.

Add the ham and, stirring frequently, cook for 5 minutes. Then stir in the shrimp and, when they are heated, add the rice. Stir over moderate heat until the mixture is hot. Taste for seasoning.

Serves 8

Note: To cook shrimp, author recommends adding celery, green onion, salt, lemon and shrimp boil (she recommends Zatarain's) in a stock pot with water, bringing the water to a boil and allowing it to boil 5 to 10 minutes to release the aroma and flavor of the seasonings. Then, drop the shrimp in their shells into the rapidly seasoned water. The water will cease boiling. Do not let it boil again. The shrimp will turn pink almost immediately, but this does not necessarily mean that they are done. When they start to cook they will lose their translucent appearance. This takes place from the outside in.

Allow the temperature of the water to rise again to a simmer, but do not boil. The shrimp are ready when they have simmered 2 to 3 minutes. Drain immediately. If they are to be served chilled, cover with ice at once.

Overcooked shrimp tend to be tough and rubbery. Follow these simple instructions and you will have perfect, tender juicy shrimp every time.

(From: Louisiana Creole & Cajun)