Jambalaya

Okay, I know that Nashville isn’t considered Cajun or Creole country, but hey, country singers haven’t traditionally sung to digital drum loops either so what’re you gonna do?  I, for one, can’t limit my jambalaya intake to time spent on the Gulf coast and the bayous (y’know, “True Blood” territory.)  And once you try this stick-to-your-ribs, cures-what-ails-ya recipe, you won’t want to wait either.  If you don’t already own a cast iron skillet, here’s your excuse to go get one.  Seriously.  I swear by them, as do most other cooks in the South and across this great land.  I’m so passionate about my cast iron skillet that I wanted to stop at the Lodge cast iron factory here in Tennessee, en route from Chattanooga.  (Alas for me and luckily for my driver on that journey, it was a Sunday so the factory was closed.)  Whether you buy one pre-seasoned or inherit one that’s been seasoned with lard by the previous four generations of your family, this is one cooking implement that no kitchen–Southern or not–should be without.

Jambalaya

Ingredients

1 cup long grain rice (heath-consciousness aside, white rice is the classic choice here)

1 medium sized yellow onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

1  16 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/2 lb. smoked andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch rounds

1 lb. chicken (you can use thighs or breasts, whichever you prefer, but whichever you choose it should be bone-in)

6-8 cloves garlic, very finely minced

1 teaspoon white pepper (if you don’t have white on hand, don’t sweat it: just use black pepper)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt: add to taste

1  1/2 cups chicken stock  (left-over from cooking the chicken)

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined (…it should go without mentioning that the shrimp should be uncooked)

1/3 cup parsley, finely minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1-3 bay leaves

In a stock pot, cover the chicken with water and set it over medium-high heat.  Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for approximately thirty minutes.  Remove the pot from the heat and remove the chicken, reserving the stock.  Shred the chicken and set it aside.  In a heavy cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, add half the oil and allow it to heat until shimmering.  Add the sausage rounds and allow them to brown lightly, about five minutes.  Remove them from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add the remaining oil to the pan and the onion, bell pepper and the celery.  Sauté for about ten minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  Add the garlic, crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper, taking care to scrape the bottom of the pan.  Stir in the rice until it’s evenly mixed throughout, and add back in the reserved chicken stock.  If you don’t have 1 1/2 cups worth, you may add either water or additional chicken stock to make up the rest.  Bring the pot back up to a rolling simmer and add back in the sausage, the shredded chicken, and the raw shrimp.  Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot for about twenty minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque and the rice is cooked.  Add 1/4 cup of the chopped parsley and stir to mix it throughout, reserving the rest to sprinkle on top of the finished plates for serving.