Jambalaya is a popular dish of West African, French, Spanish and Native American influence, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Traditionally, the meat always includes sausage and/or chicken and seafood such as crawfish or shrimp. The vegetables are usually a sofrito-like mixture known as the “holy trinity” consisting of onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Other vegetables such as corn, tomatoes, chilis and garlic are also used. After browning and sautéing the meat and vegetables, rice, seasonings and broth are added and the entire dish is cooked together until the rice is done. In the Afropean kitchen, I have prepared Jambalaya with a different variation based on how I like my dishes. I have added fish for example. The order at which I added and cooked the ingredients might not be to the liking of the purist, but the result is the same, truly delicious.
Ingredients:
400 g boneless chicken breast
225 g Chorizo
75 g shrimps
70 g fish (optional)
100 g celeriac
1 corn hob
1 red bell pepper (optional)
1 yellow bell pepper (optional)
1 green bell pepper
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves of mashed garlic
Spices of choice
1 tin of tomato
½ l chicken stock
1 cup of rice (ca. 300 grams)
30 ml + 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Preparation:
Chop the boneless chicken breast . Dice the bell peppers, Chorizo, the celeriac and mash the garlic cloves. Heat the oil and bake the chicken in medium heat until golden brown.
In medium heat, add 2 tablespoon of oil. Add and stir the onions, garlic and chorizo together for 3 minutes. Add your spices of choice and stir. Add the bell peppers and the corn hob. Add fish (optional) and stir. Add chicken, celeriac and tinned tomatoes. Stir and let them cook together for 5 minutes. Add shrimps and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of rice. Stir and add ½ l chicken stock. Cover and let simmer in low heat for 20 minutes. Your yummy Jambalaya is ready to eat. Enjoy your meal!
P.S. You don’t need salt because there is enough salt in the chorizo and stock already.