This New Orleans classic is loaded with meat, seafood, and tomatoes. Two main categories of jambalaya exist: Creole (or red) jambalaya, which is associated with the city of New Orleans and contains tomato; and Cajun (or brown) jambalaya, which contains no tomato and is more common in other parts of Louisiana. This recipe focuses on the Creole version with tomato.
According to Serious Eats “Beyond those two categories, though, it gets more difficult to pin down specifics. Meats often include pork (ham or sausage), chicken, shrimp, and crawfish, but oysters, turtle, duck, alligator, and more can also find their way into the jambalaya pot. Many recipes call for the “holy trinity”—Cajun cooking’s signature aromatic mixture of onion, green bell pepper, and celery—but I’ve found examples that omit or alter some part of it.”
This version sticks with some of the most common choices: a mixture of chicken, smoked andouille sausage, and shrimp, along with the trinity in its most typical form. The rice ratio? Rice can be tricky, but as a rule of thumb, using twice as much liquid as rice by volume will more or less put you in the ballpark.
You’ll need the juice from the tomatoes to function as a portion of the rice-cooking liquid, so be sure to check the ingredients and get canned peeled whole tomatoes packed in juice, not in purée.
The reason to use canned whole tomatoes is threefold. First, they tend to be better quality than crushed or puréed. Second, canned whole tomatoes tend not to have the firming agents that crushed tomatoes do—those firming agents can prevent the tomatoes from softening as they cook, so that they never fully melt into the dish. And third, because it’s easier to separate the flesh of whole tomatoes from their juices than it is to separate crushed or puréed tomatoes from them.
Creole-Style Red Jambalaya With Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 28-oz. can peeled whole tomatoes, packed in juice
- About 3 cups homemade chicken or shellfish stock, plus more as needed
- 1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable, canola, or other neutral oil, plus more if needed
- 3/4 lb. cooked Cajun or Creole sausage, such as andouille or chaurice (or other similar smoked or spiced pork sausage), sliced into thin rounds
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- 4 celery ribs, diced
- 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp. Louisiana-style hot sauce (like Tabasco sauce), plus more for serving
- 2 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups long-grain rice
- 3/4 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
- 6 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
Directions
- Strain tomatoes and add juice to a 4-cup measuring cup. Place tomatoes in a medium bowl. Using your fingers, carefully tear each tomato open to release the liquid inside its seed compartments. Strain all this liquid into measuring cup. Crush tomatoes well with your hands. Add enough chicken stock to tomato juices to total 4 cups (960ml). Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Season chicken all over with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken and cook, turning, until browned on both sides, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes, then cut into 1/2-inch chunks and set aside.
- Meanwhile, add sausage to Dutch oven and cook, stirring often, until just starting to darken, about 3 minutes; lower heat and/or add oil at any point to prevent burning. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring and scraping bottom of Dutch oven, until browned bits have come loose and vegetables just begin to turn lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add hot sauce, thyme, oregano, cayenne, garlic powder, and a very generous dose of black pepper. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato/stock mixture, diced chicken, and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Season with salt, tasting liquid to ensure it is well seasoned.
- Stir in rice and return to a simmer. Cover with lid and transfer to oven. Bake until liquid is fully absorbed and rice is tender, about 40 minutes.
- Gently stir in shrimp and scallions and return to oven until shrimp are just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Cover pot and let rest 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
- Serve, passing hot sauce at the table for diners to add to taste.
Original recipe by Daniel Gritzer for Serious Eats
Accounting for Taste 