Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

A Creole-style jambalaya, with tomatoes.

Makes

Five (5) large servings

Hardware

• 6 qt. Dutch oven
• Chopping bowl with mezzaluna knife

Ingredients

14	oz		canned, peeled, whole tomatoes, in tomato juice
2	c		chicken stock (no or low salt preferred)
			vegetable oil
6	oz		andouille sausage
14	oz		diced yellow onion
6	oz		diced celery
1¼	oz		garlic, minced
1	tsp		tomato paste
1	tsp		dried thyme
1	tsp		dried oregano
2			bay leaves
			kosher salt
			black pepper
1	c		medium grain white rice (not rinsed)
1	lb		shrimp
6			scallions, sliced very thin

Procedure

1. Pre-heat oven to 325F.


2. Place a colander over a bowl and pour in the tomatoes. Remove the tomatoes to the chopping bowl, chop them up a bit, then return them to the colander. Allow to drain.


3. Pour the tomato juice into a measuring cup, then add enough chicken stock to make a total of 2 cups of liquid.


4. Cut the sausage into thin half moons.


5. In the Dutch oven, brown the sausage in just enough oil; remove to a holding bowl.


6. Saute the onions and celery, adding oil if necessary; if there’s still fond on the bottom of the pan, add a bit of the tomato/chicken liquid and scrape up everything so it doesn’t burn; cook until the vegetables are soft and starting to take on some color.


7. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.


8. Add the spices and a generous helping of black pepper; cook for 1 minute.


9. Add the tomatoes and the liquid, stir well, and taste for salt; it should be fairly salty, but the rice will “use up” a lot of the salt. It’s better to add it now, when it’s easy to stir; after the rice is cooked it will be much harder to adjust anything.


10. Bring almost to a boil then add the rice and the sausage; stir well.


11. Cover and transfer to the oven for 45 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.


12. While the rice is cooking, prepare the shrimp and the scallions; if desired, cut the shrimp into pieces.


13. When the rice is cooked, remove the dutch to the stove and stir in the shrimp and scallions; cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Notes

There’s no need to cook the shrimp; the rice and sausage micture will have more than enough residual heat.

Andouille sausage can be quite spicy; if desired, substitute kielbasa for half or all of the andouille.

If using kielbasa (or another smoked sausage), consider adding up to 1 tsp of smoked paprika and/or 1 tsp of your favorite hot sauce.

Notes to Myself

For 26 - 30 shrimp, cut each one into 3 pieces.

Approximately 29 calories per ounce.

Rating

Difficulty:		Very easy
Time:		Total time: 2½ hours, as follows:      Prep and stovetop cooking: 1½ hours      Baking and resting: 1 hour (includes 15 minutes additional prep time)
Precision:		4 for the rice and the liquid 3 for everything else

Source

Adapted from Creole-Style Red Jambalaya With Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Recipe.