WHO DAT? The New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl-bound, and we’ve got your back with a jambalaya recipe from Nicole Canfora Lupo, New Jersey-based journalist, author of Images of America: Belleville
, and lover of double coupons. She can be found at her incredible finance site, Rainy-Day Saver, where we can all learn a few things about budgeting and splurge on the good stuff, like bacon chocolate.
It’s always smart to have a filling and meaty main course on your Super Bowl buffet table. With all the free-flowing beer, your guests need something substantial to keep them energized and on their feet through four quarters of commercials that try too hard, questionable play calls from the guys in stripes, and an aging-rockers halftime show. One of my all-time favorite winter recipes rises to the occasion for this year’s Big Game—it’s not a soup, it’s not a stew, it’s that Creole creation of jambalaya.
I’m not sure when I first discovered the ricey goodness of the jambalaya. It might have been back in 2004, when I went to Oddfellows Rest in Hoboken, which specializes in Cajun and Creole cuisine. But it definitely led me to find a good base recipe and put my own spin on it.
The nice thing about jambalaya is its flexibility with main ingredients: chicken, sausage and shrimp work best, and in any combination. Use just one or throw in all three for a flavorful feast. It can be Cajun-ized with the addition of tomatoes, which I use when making the dish. And I swear jambalaya tastes even better the next day, after the flavors have had a chance to blend further.
Now, on blustery winter days, I whip up a big pot of jambalaya and enjoy it for meals throughout the week. The recipe can be doubled—or even tripled—if you’re feeding a ravenous Super Bowl crowd. Even Archie Manning might switch his loyalty back to the Saints upon tasting this.
Chicken & Andouille Sausage Jambalaya
Serves 4-6, depending on the level of your guests’ appetites
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked
- 4 links Andouille sausage, cooked
- 2 1/2 cups white long-grain rice
- 2 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes
- 4 3/4 cups chicken broth (canned or homemade)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons Louisiana hot sauce
In a large pot, saute the bell pepper, onion and celery in canola oil on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken, sausage, rice, tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaves and hot sauce; bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Substitution notes: You can “healthy” it up by substituting brown rice and adding an extra 3/4 cup of chicken broth, but I don’t think the texture is quite the same. If you decide to add shrimp, make sure they’re cooked through before adding them to the pot during the final 10 minutes of simmering. Also, feel free to substitute fresh thyme leaves or reduce amount of hot sauce, if desired.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
My husband would LOVE this recipe. It is smart to serve this at parties as it goes a long way.
Jambalaya! Jambalaya! [Newman]
@Wino: I’m obviously not up on my Seinfeld references, will have to look that up!
I like hot hot hot!