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La Belle Cuisine
New Orleans Shrimp Jambalaya
How do you present someone a recipe for jambalaya? No easy task, for
there
must be as many ways to make jambalaya as there are
Cajun or Creole cooks,
to say
nothing of those who aspire to be. And of course everyone thinks theirs
is the best. It's
somewhat like trying to come up with THE definitive recipe for
potato salad
or gumbo,
stew
or vegetable soup. The variety is limited only by
the creative imagination of the cook and
the availability of ingredients.
Basically, jambalaya consists of rice with either meat
(sausage, ham, chicken,
duck, etc.) or seafood (shrimp, oyster, crab) or a combination of both, plus
tomatoes, Cajun spices and the "holy trinity" of New Orleans cooking:
onions, bell pepper and celery. Some cooks add okra to their jambalaya,
but I prefer
to save the okra for gumbo.
According to the Acadian Dictionary (Rita and Gabrielle Claudet, Houma,
LA, 1981) the word jambalaya "...comes from the French 'jambon'
meaning
ham, the African
'ya' meaning rice, and the Acadian [language] where every-
thing is
'à la.' "
So, having said all that, how could I possibly declare this the definitive
jambalaya recipe? I could not. All I can say is that it is one of my very
favorites.
Perhaps it
will become one of yours too.
3 tablespoons olive oil or bacon grease
1 cup chopped onions
3/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Two 1-pound cans plum tomatoes
2 cups seafood stock or chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning mix*
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 cups long grain raw rice, washed
4 pounds raw shrimp, peeled
Additional salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
[Feel free to add andouille or other smoked sausage!]
* My favorite purchased seasoning mix is Tony Chachere's , but there are lots
of them out
there since Chef Paul Prudhomme has made Cajun cooking a part
of the standard fare of the
American table. Cajun seasoning is simply a mixture
of salt, red pepper, black pepper, and
an assortment of spices such as thyme, oregano, paprika, onion and garlic powder, etc.
Paul Prudhomme has a variety
of "Cajun Magic" seasoning mixes on
the market. Or mix up some
Emeril's Essence to kick it up
a notch! I always have a jar of it handy. Adjust to taste
the amount of thyme and oregano you add, which will depend on the
brand
of seasoning mix you choose.
In a large heavy kettle sauté the onions, bell pepper, celery and
garlic in
the olive oil until tender but not brown, about 5 minutes.
Drain the tomatoes,
reserving the liquid. (Of course an excellent option is
to use fresh tomatoes, about 4
medium-sized, peeled; in this case you will
need additional liquid - preferably tomato
juice.) Chop the tomatoes and
add them to the pot along
with the reserved tomato liquid, stock
or broth,
green onions, bay leaves, seasoning mix, thyme and oregano. Bring the
mixture to a
boil and add the
rice, stirring well to combine.
And now for the big question: Is jambalaya best prepared on top of
the stove, in the oven, or both? That's one of those questions that could
start a
big argument in South Louisiana. A question like "Is authentic
Creole gumbo prepared
with gumbo filé or with okra?" I really prefer
not
to get caught in the middle of
such controversies, especially since,
regretfully, I am neither Creole, Cajun nor even a
native of Louisiana.
The only thing that might possibly give me the right to even discuss
these issues is that I am familiar with them due to the fact that New
Orleans
was my
second home for many, many years and my home
of choice now. The most important reason is that I absolutely adore
New Orleans and its unique cuisine - the very best on the planet to
my admittedly prejudiced palate...
But I digress. Again. Many recipes call for jambalaya to be cooked
on top
of the stove, covered, over low heat until the rice is tender -
30 minutes or so. Then
again you will see recipes which call for the
mixture to be transferred from the kettle to
a greased baking dish and
baked 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. There are also recipes that
call
for a combination of both methods - 30 minutes on the stovetop fol-
lowed by 20 or 30
minutes baking at 350 degrees F. This depends to
a large degree on the ingredients you
have chosen - sausage, ham,
chicken, seafood, etc. My preference for this particular
recipe is to
cook about 15 minutes on the stove, then add the shrimp and bake
for about 15 minutes (or less) at 350 degrees F. I am highly offended
by overcooked shrimp. And there is an
excellent reason for using
seafood or fish stock
in this recipe. Yes, of course it takes a
little more
time, but that way you derive the benefit of the incomparable seafood
flavor
without sacrificing
the texture of the shrimp. No matter which direction you choose to
take, this is a wonderful dish and calls for a
large green salad and French bread, or
perhaps a yummy batch of
garlic bread. A bottle or three of good red
wine. Or Abita Amber...
Bon appétit, cher!
Featured Archive Recipes:
Favorite Creole-Cajun Jambalaya
Commander's Palace Seafood Jambalaya
Emeril's Crawfish and Sausage Jambalaya
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