Saucyman – Now that I know what to put in jambalaya, so how do I make it – Craving
Start with long grain rice basmati or jasmine work and they have a nice texture when cooked but as long as the bag says ‘long grain rice’ you are in good shape. Cooking jambalaya is different from steaming rice, which is about 1 part rice, to 2 parts liquid. Because you are constantly adding ingredients you aren’t steaming the rice, it is more of a boil, kind of like cooking pasta. So you will need at least 3 parts liquid to each part rice.
Liquid could mean water but in the Saucykitchens it means stock. I will write more about stock in the future, but stock is stock, it is not broth. One word sounds strong, one word sounds tepid. Stock is a foundation to a structure, broth is a decoration, like a window treatment – not essential for building. Do not now or ever use anything from a carton or a tablet that promises to enhance flavor – by making your own, you make everything better. 2 onions, quartered, 1 carrot sliced, 2 ribs celery cut in half, 10 parsley stems, 2 bay leaves and about a teaspoon of thyme thrown in a pot with salt and pepper. Sauté all of it together for 5 minutes over moderate heat, cover with a gallon of water and after it comes to a simmer - cook for 30 minutes, strain through a kitchen colander and you will have something way better than will ever come out of a carton. Freeze the excess so you will never again be seduced by the false promise of a carton.
Tomatoes. I like the Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes and not because they are organic and come with a hug from Al Gore (although he is a good hugger and everyday is really earth day) but because these tomatoes hold up to additional cooking. The heat used to process canned tomatoes cooks them, so a person has to be mindful never to treat canned tomatoes like fresh ones. Products like tomato puree, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste that are cooked before they are canned - the last thing you want to do is cook those products more – they should be added at the end. The Muir Glen diced tomatoes don’t have that crappy cooked/scorched tomato taste. And when cooking tomatoes and rice in a dish like jambalaya tomatoes are treated like a liquid.
Vegetables. I like my vegetables to have a little bite, color and caramelization on them. They are sautéed in a separate pan and added to the rice in parts – onion first, red pepper and celery at the end.
Meat. Because I want to develop texture and color, I fry the sausage together with the onions over med-high heat and until the onions begin to brown just a little, then both are added to the rice. Shrimp goes in at the very end when for the rice is done. Chicken and/or bacon can be browned for about 5 minutes – add the rice and liquid and cook together. Shrimp get added at the end – turn heat off, stir in shrimp and leave covered for 2 to 5 minutes – the shrimp will turn that shrimpy orange color when they are cooked.
Jambalaya is basically a rice pilaf, so here is the basic pilaf recipe -
1 ½ cups rice
3 cups stock
1 cup diced tomatoes – broken up in food processor or with a knife.
1 bay leaf
Pinch of salt
3 – 5 cloves garlic
Oregano, rosemary, parsley, paprika, cayenne to taste
Add all the ingredients in a pan – sauté pans with a wide surface area work better than stock bring ingredients to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Depending how rapidly you boil the rice, an extra cup of water or stock might be required to keep the pilaf moist. All in all by cooking over moderate heat this should take 40 minutes.
Add onion and sausage after about 20 minutes. After the basic pilaf is done stir in the shrimp and the lightly sautéed celery and red pepper.
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