Not only is jambalaya a popular Hank Williams song, but it’s a favorite
in Cajun county in the United States. Though many chefs think theirs is
the only way, there is no one right way to make jambalaya. There are
some basic ingredients that are important to the recipe, but you can
take a lot of liberties with it. Most cooks use sausage in their
jambalaya, but this recipe is for chicken jambalaya. Feel free to
substitute sausage if you like.
When making jambalaya, most Cajun cooks recommend using a Dutch oven or
a large cast iron pot.
Chicken Jambalaya
1 whole cut up chicken (can cut into smaller chunks if you like)
2 bell peppers, cleaned and chopped
2 medium onions chopped (yellow onions are a good choice)
1/2 tablespoon butter
5 cloves of garlic, crushed (or about 2 tablespoons powdered)
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon savory
2 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons of pepper (coarse is preferred)
1 medium can of diced tomatoes (about 14 ounces)
1 cup of chicken broth
2 cups of water
3 cups of long grain rice
Put the basil, the savory, the thyme and the salt together in a small
dish and grind them together. A mort and pestle is perfect for this.
Heat up a Dutch oven or large pot and add the butter. Don’t get the heat
too high and scorch the butter. Sauté the bell peppers and onions until
they are limp and translucent.
Now add water, the chicken broth, the bay leaf, the pepper, the spices
you ground together, the canned tomatoes with the juice, the rice and
the cut up chicken. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then cover and
simmer until the rice has absorbed the liquid. If the rice is not tender
at this point, add more liquid (water or broth) and simmer longer. It
should take about 40 to 50 minutes.
If you want to add some sausage to this chicken jambalaya, you can add a
pound or two of smoked sausage or spicy sausage. Slice it into bite size
pieces and sauté it with the onions and green pepper. The recipe is good
either way.
