Dad's Jambalaya

Last night I made a recipe I got from my Dad a while back, his New Orleans-style jambalaya.  It's an easy week-night dinner and you really only need one saucepan and a little frying pan to make it.  Don't we just love not having to wash a thousand dishes?  And it only takes 25 minutes, start to finish.  I'll preface this write-up with a note that we like a lot of meat in our dishes, so adjust the ingredient list according to your own tastes.  And we're off!  

THE MISSION:   

Okay, just looking at that is making me hungry.  And I had 2 bowls of it last night.  It's that good.  

THE INGREDIENTS: 1 box Zatarain's New Orleans Style Jambalaya Mix, 12 ounces of small tail-off cooked shrimp (peeled and deveined), 12 ounces (about 4 large links) smoked andouille sausage, a few splashes of Frank's Red Hot Sauce or Tabasco.  (Note: You can substitute chorizo sausage for the andouille, they both work really well.  We prefer the andouille.)

Make sure you don't use canned shrimp.  I tried this once to save a couple of bucks and it was awful and had to be thrown out.  Splurge on some really good shrimp.  

Mix 2.5 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (optional) in a 3-quart saucepan.  Bring to a boil and add the Zatarain's Jambalaya Mix.  Mix well.  Return to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.  

The box directions indicate to throw the meat in right away with the jambalaya mix but we do it a little bit differently.  While the rice is simmering away, we slice the sausage up into bite-sized pieces and warm them through in a small frying pan.  On medium/medium-high this only takes about seven to 10 minutes to do.  

Then, in the same pan I cooked the andouille sausage I add the shrimp and reduce the heat to low.  This serves two purposes.  First, recently thawed shrimp produce a lot of excess water when they're being cooked and this provides an opportunity to get rid of this water.  Secondly, since you're cooking the shrimp in the same pan as the sausage, they get a nice smokey flavor.  Pour off as much water from the shrimp as possible.  Make sure to only cook the shrimp for a few minutes on low heat.  Overcooking will make them very chewy.  Also, don't season the shrimp with salt.  The sausage is very salty itself.    

With about 10 minutes left on the rice's cooking time, add in the andouille, shrimp, and a few splashes of the hot sauce and finish cooking through.  

You can see from the picture how much rice one little box makes!  

When the 25 minutes are through, remove the pan from heat.  Let stand 5 minutes to thicken.  

MISSION COMPLETE: 

DEBRIEFING: This is one of those recipes that's nearly impossible to screw up.  Which is what makes it so great.  It also makes enough to fill up a large casserole dish.  It reheats really well and works as lunch the next day or a side dish with something else.  

I've toyed around with different ingredients: chicken, ham, mussels, small pieces of steak.  Add anything you like!  Adding the chicken and mussels, along with the sausage and shrimp, reminds me more of a paella than jambalaya but that's the beauty of cooking - you can make it however you like it!  

And if you like your food really spicy, throw in some crushed red pepper flakes.  Phew!    

Cheers,

Rachel