Jambalaya
1lb sausage* (I prefer Conecuh Brand sausage. It has a good bit of spice to it.)
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs*
2c white long grain rice
Trinity
1 medium onion
1 medium bell pepper
3 stalks celery
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
Spices
1tsp thyme
½tsp coriander
2 bay leaves
1tsp Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning or whatever Cajun seasoning you prefer
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut chicken into small cubes and sausage into short segments. Dice onion, bell pepper, celery into small pieces. Mince the garlic (please don’t use the nasty jarred garlic). Veggies should be diced into small pieces so that they cook down in the pan. Onion, bell pepper and celery are referred to as The Trinity. Garlic is pretty much considered part of the The Trinity as well.
Put olive oil in pot and put on medium heat. Put sausage and chicken in and cook until browned. Stir regularly. Make sure the meats are well browned before adding veggies. Add veggies. Keep stirring. Add spices. Veggies should cook down for a while. The final product should not have large chunks of veggies. Trinity is viewed as a ‘seasoning’ so it should be cooked until it breaks down into smaller bits. This will take a while. Trust me it’s worth it. If you rush this, you may end up with a dish you enjoy but the depth of flavors may not be there.
Rinse the rice well. Rinse until the water becomes clear. Drain well.
Add rice to the pot and stir well.
Add 3 ¾ cups water. (Play around with this. There are usually already liquid from the veggies so adding the normal 2:1 ratio of water:rice can be excessive)
Stir to make sure the ingredients are covered by the water. You don’t want any clumps of rice lingering above the water line.
Bring to a boil. Cover and turn down to a simmer.
DO NOT STIR IT AFTER THIS POINT OR YOU WILL END UP WITH UNDERCOOKED RICE!
This part doesn’t take that long. The rice will absorb the water. Check it after about 8 or 9 minutes. Nobody likes overcooked rice.
*You can make a vegetarian version. Quorn makes wonderful faux chicken breasts that can be used in place of chicken. Also there are faux sausages. Pick one that has a bit of spice to it.
When I’ve cooked veggie sausage in the past it can fall apart if it is cooked in a dish (especially if it’s in a liquid: soup, beans etc), so brown it and remove it from the pan then place it in the pot when you bring it to a simmer. You could also try browning mushrooms and adding those back in later.
Conecuh Sausage is a brand of sausage from Alabama primarily sold in the South, but I just checked out their website and it is now available in the Midwest.