Riittalicious: DinnerTime / Riittalicious Jambalaya

Hi again!

Since most of the biggest celebrations of Mardi Gras are in the Southern parts of the USA, I wanted to cook a cuisine that people eat in that part of the world. I decided to make Jambalaya because it is known to be one of the staple foods in Louisiana. There are various ways to make jambalaya but the main ingredients are meat, vegetables, rice and stock.

Here's interesting facts about the history of jambalaya (courtesy of wikipedia):

-Creole jambalaya originates from the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the original European sector. It was an attempt by the Spanish to make paella in the New World, where saffron was not readily available due to import costs. Tomatoes became the substitute for saffron. As time went on, French influence became strong in New Orleans, and spices from the Caribbean changed this New World paella into a unique dish. In modern Louisiana, the dish has evolved along a variety of different lines. Creole jambalaya, or red jambalaya as it is called by Cajuns, is found primarily in and around New Orleans, where it is simply known as 'jambalaya'. Creole jambalaya includes tomatoes, whereas Cajun jambalaya does not.

-Cajun Jambalaya originates from Louisiana's rural, low-lying swamp country where crawfish, shrimp, oysters, alligator, duck, turtle, boar, venison, nutria and other game were readily available. Any variety or combination of meats, including chicken or turkey may be used to make jambalaya. Cajun jambalaya is known as 'Brown jambalaya' in the New Orleans area; to Cajuns it is simply known as 'jambalaya.' Cajun jambalaya has more of a smoky and spicy flavor than its cousin Creole jambalaya.The white French Creoles introduced jambalaya to the Cajuns, but since tomatoes were rarely used in Cajun cooking, they omitted them, browning the meat for color instead.

Jambalaya is a great dish to make because it serves many people on one sitting or couple people for few days. The taste of Jambalaya only gets better when you heat it up the next day because the different flavors have had time to marinade. So, go ahead, make a huge pot of Jambalaya! Invite your friends over for a party or savor it all for yourself. Either way you will be happy!

I ended up making my own recipe since we can't have chicken (allergies) and we don't like shrimp; both of the main ingredients that are usually used in jambalaya. I hope you try my recipe because it turned out awesome! But if you are looking for more traditional recipes with chicken and shrimp, you can find a lot of good ones from AllRecipes.

Riittalicious Jambalaya:

- 2 onions cut in small chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 5-8 slices of uncooked bacon cut into pieces
- 1 - 1½ lbs chorizo (or any other spicy sausage, appx 700-1000g)
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can black beans
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup water (2,5 dl)
- ½ cup ketchup (appx 1dl)
- 1 tbps sugar
- ½ tsp dried chili powder
- 1 tsp dried paprika powder (smoked paprika if possible)
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1tsp dried garlic flakes
- hot sauce to your liking
- 1 cup uncooked rice (2,5 dl)
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup frozen vegetable mix ( I used pea, corn, bell pepper mix)

First heat up oil and then add onion. After onions are sauteed, add bacon and sausage. Let the meat cook almost all the way through.

Add tomatoes, beans, water, ketchup, spices and rice. Mix well. Let it cook until rice is almost done.

Add vegetables and cook until rice is done. Add more water if needed. Check to see if you need to add anymore hot sauce. I like mine fairly mild, so I only put a little bit.

Chorizo all ready to go to the pot.