Brown Rice Jambalaya
Like many people, when times are busy and the weather is grey, I turn to cooking. But, it's all too easy for me to get in a cooking rut and just be too busy to be creative so I'll end up cooking my usual suspects: turkey burgers, turkey meatballs and some variety of soup first pop up on that list. Which are all fine and dandy of course, don't get me wrong. But what really makes me happy is when I slow down for a minute in the swirl of a busy season to get creative in the kitchen and cook something new.
The inspiration for throwing this together in the first place was trying to make the most of what I had on hand while also being creative and trying something new. I just so happened to have some bell peppers and some Aidell's Andouille-style sausage (random, but true), along with a bunch of other pantry staples like spices and rice. Before I knew it, a jambalaya was born!
What I love about this recipe is it’s not just a one-pot meal to ease with cleanup but it utilizes brown rice. And while you could obviously make this jambalaya with any rice, I'm specifically calling out the brown rice in this recipe for a few reasons. The first being, it’s uniquely nutty and chewy in a way that normal jasmine or basmati is not. I also think it creates an even heartier dish that works beautifully to compliment the robust and spicy Cajun flavors.
Even more notable than the rice in this dish is the sheer amount of flavor. Cajun seasoning (my favorite being the Tony Chachere's brand) definitely plays a crucial role in the spice factor. And I'm not just talking about heat spice, though it certainly has that going for it, but true layers of spice that just keep building with each bite. Beyond the Cajun seasoning, though, are the true flavors of a New Orleans-style "holy trinity" of onions, peppers and celery that are the real culprit of deeply complex this recipe is flavor wise.
It all comes together impeccably in almost a risotto-like fashion. It amounts to one big bowl of comfort, that's sure to cure those rainy day blues.
Brown Rice Jambalaya
Ingredients
Olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 pound Andouille-style sausage - I used Aidell's
1 yellow onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced - I used an orange and a red
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning - the Tony Chachere's seasoning is what's up!
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional - depending on how much of a kick you want!)
1 1/2 cups brown rice
4 cups chicken stock
Fresh parsley to garnish
Directions
Season chicken pieces with about 1/2 tablespoon of the Cajun seasoning you'll be using for the recipe. Honestly, the amount of Cajun seasoning I mentioned above is just an estimate. I like things super seasoned and super spicy so I pretty much just eyeball this to my tasting preference, as you should too! Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Cook chicken pieces until they're just browned. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Add Andouille, diced onions, peppers and celery to the dutch oven and saute for about 5 minutes until veggies are fragrant and sausage starts to brown. Add fire roasted tomatoes and remaining Cajun seasoning, or at least a tablespoon if not more plus any additional cayenne if you like it real hot! I probably added a 1-1/2 teaspoons of cayenne in addition to the Cajun seasoning and it wasn't boiling lava hot but it did pack a nice punch. Stir to combine and begin to scrape up brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Cook for about a minute then add rice and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil then cover and cook for about an hour, until rice is puffed up.
Add chicken back to the pot and cook uncovered for another 5-10 minutes, until the Jambalaya has reached a "risotto-like" consistency. This means there should still appear to be liquid in the pot, but the rice is really congealed with the sauce and when you pick up a spoonful everything sticks together. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy! Makes great leftovers!
