blue artichoke

In honor of Mardi Gras last week, I decided to make a New Orleans favorite for dinner last night, jambalaya. I've been reading a lot about traditional New Orleans food in Cornbread Nation, vol. 1, a compilation of Southern food writing, and now have a better idea of the difference between Creole and Cajun. Creoles are descendants of Louisiana's original Spanish, French and African populations and formed the upper crust of Louisiana society; Creole culinary traditions include gumbos and jambalaya. Jambalaya is a West African adaptation of Spanish paella. Cajuns are French-speaking Acadians from Nova Scotia. Cajun cooking is peasant-style, found originally in the rural swamplands and bayous of south Louisiana, and simpler than Creole cooking, though heavier, spicier and more robust; étoufée is a Cajun specialty. I generally prefer rural, peasant-style cooking to fancy-pants, pretentious cooking, but jambalaya doesn't cop an attitude or look down at me for using a paper napkin and eating on a tv tray in front of the television. It is a perfect sick-day food too; easy to put together with not a whole lot of dirty dishes to clean, and it's spicy enough to decongest nasal passages, for a while at least.

Jambalaya

This Creole dish is a breeze to prepare and works well for busy nights after holiday shopping. It's great when you need a meal that can stand for a while once it's ready, and it reheats well. Serve with hot sauce.

I used 1 chicken thigh, 1 chicken breast half and half of a turkey Kielbasa (probably 8 oz.). I omitted the shrimp because I'm persnickety about the preparation of shrimp (don't like shrimp mixed with anything else). I didn't miss the shrimp, there was plenty of meat, but someone who enjoys shrimp that has touched rice or something other than a pan would probably like the recipe as is. I used brown rice because I'm a health nut and don't keep white rice around much, and the rice took ~20 minutes longer to cook. I also used homemade chicken stock, so I don't know exactly how much I used - it was a round Ziploc bowl full plus 5-6 ice-cube size frozen blocks. I had to add some more liquid (water), I think perhaps because the brown rice absorbs more liquid than white rice. Anyway, this was really good.

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped smoked turkey sausage (about 4 ounces)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
2 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and black pepper. Add chicken to pan, and cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm.

Add sausage to pan; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic; cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth, paprika, thyme, and red pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken and tomatoes; cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in shrimp; cover and cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with green onions.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

CALORIES 322(14% from fat); FAT 5.1g (sat 1.1g,mono 1.5g,poly 1.9g); PROTEIN 20.4g; CHOLESTEROL 68mg; CALCIUM 72mg; SODIUM 640mg; FIBER 3.2g; IRON 3.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 46.8g
Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2004

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite sick-day food?