(From cousin Marcelle Bienvenu’s cookbook, Whose Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make A Roux? Copyright 1991)
Marcelle lived right down the road from where I lived, and I visited her home often. Her family’s kitchen was always busy making wonderful homemade food, and she was right in the middle of the bustling kitchen. When she grew up, she produced a very charming and successful cookbook containing many family recipes
Ingredients:
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- ½ cup chopped white onions
- 1 cup large sweet green pepper, julienned
- 1 cup chopped celery with leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 dozen raw oysters or 1 cup chopped ham
- 1 lb. can raw tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Salt, cayenne pepper, thyme, bay leaf, and hot sauce
- 1 cup uncooked rice
Directions:
- Sauté Aromatics: In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped green onions, white onions, sweet green pepper, celery, and minced garlic. Sauté the vegetables until they are soft and translucent, releasing their aromatic flavors into the pot.
- Add Seafood (or Ham): Once the vegetables are wilted, it’s time to add the star ingredients. If you’re using shrimp and oysters, add them to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes until the shrimp turn pink and the oysters plump up. If you prefer, you can substitute ham for the seafood – simply add it to the pot at this stage.
- Incorporate Tomatoes and Broth: Pour in the canned tomatoes and chicken broth, stirring to combine. These ingredients will form the flavorful base of our Jambalaya. Season the mixture to taste with salt, cayenne pepper, thyme, a bay leaf, and a few dashes of hot sauce for that quintessential Cajun kick.
- Add Rice: Once the broth is simmering and seasoned to perfection, add the uncooked rice to the pot. Stir everything together until the rice is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
- Simmer and Serve: Cover the pot with a lid and let the Jambalaya simmer gently for about 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the delicious flavors of the dish. If the Jambalaya becomes too dry during cooking, simply add a little tomato juice or broth to keep it moist.
- Time to Enjoy: Once the rice is cooked to perfection, it’s time to dish up your Jambalaya My Way! Serve it hot, garnished with fresh chopped parsley if desired, and accompanied by crusty French bread or cornbread for sopping up all those flavorful juices.
!Like many Cajun recipes, every cook had their own way of making Jambalaya. This is Cousin Marcell’s way and it’s a great way to dive into Cajun food!
