Jambalaya
Jambalaya cooks the rice in the same pot the meat was browned in — and that is its whole secret. Once the liquid goes in you must not stir: every movement releases starch and turns jambalaya into a risotto it was never meant to be.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Browning the sausage and chicken 17 min
- Holy trinity 12 min
- Cooking the rice 25 min
- Prawns 6 min
- Resting covered 10 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneBrown the sausage for its fat
Heat the oil in a wide cast iron pot and fry the sausage slices for 6–8 minutes until browned and their fat has rendered. Lift them out with a slotted spoon but leave the fat — everything else cooks in it.
Ingredients: 300 g smoked sausage · 500 g chicken thighs · 300 g prawns · 2 tbsp oil
Rendered sausage fat carries smoky flavour through the whole dish.Brown the chicken
In the same fat brown the chicken cubes for 6–8 minutes, turning every 2–3 minutes, until coloured outside. The centre need not be cooked — it finishes with the rice. Lift out and set aside.
Ingredients: 300 g smoked sausage · 500 g chicken thighs · 300 g prawns · 2 tbsp oil
Cook the holy trinity
Add the diced onion, green pepper and celery — the Cajun holy trinity — and cook 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, thyme, oregano, chilli and salt and cook 60 seconds until fragrant.
Ingredients: 2 pcs onions · 1 pcs green pepper · 3 pcs celery · 4 cloves garlic · 2 tsp smoked paprika · 2 tsp thyme · 1 tsp oregano · 1 tsp chilli flakes · 2 pcs bay leaves · 1 tsp salt
TipGreen pepper, not red. Its slightly bitter, grassy flavour is characteristic of the dish; red would be too sweet.
Onion, green pepper and celery.Add the rice and coat it in fat
Add the dry rice and stir for 2 minutes until every grain is coated in fat and translucent at the edges. That fat layer is what keeps the grains separate instead of clumping.
Ingredients: 400 g rice · 400 g tomatoes · 700 ml chicken stock · 4 pcs spring onions
Add the liquid and stop stirring
Add the tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, chicken and sausage. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 25 minutes. From now on do not stir even once — stirring releases starch and glues the rice together.
Ingredients: 400 g rice · 400 g tomatoes · 700 ml chicken stock · 4 pcs spring onions
TipIf you must check, lift the lid for a second and close it. Every peek costs steam and moisture.
The last stir before the lid goes on.Add the prawns at the end
Lay the prawns on top of the rice, cover and cook 5–6 minutes — on steam alone. They are done when they curl into a C and turn pink. Curled into a closed O they are already overcooked.
Ingredients: 300 g smoked sausage · 500 g chicken thighs · 300 g prawns · 2 tbsp oil
Rest and fluff with a fork
Take off the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. Only now separate the grains with a fork, not a spoon, then taste and add salt if needed. Scatter sliced spring onions and serve straight from the pot.
Ingredients: 400 g rice · 400 g tomatoes · 700 ml chicken stock · 4 pcs spring onions
Before you start
A crusty bottom is a bonus
The thin, browned layer of rice on the base of the pot is, for many, the best mouthful. Scrape it up and mix it through. Browned, not burnt — if it smells scorched, use a lower heat next time.
Red versus brown
This tomato version is Creole jambalaya. The Cajun version leaves out tomatoes and gets its colour from more deeply browned meat.
Adjustable heat
Instead of adding more chilli, serve hot sauce on the side — everyone sets their own level. If children are eating, cut the chilli flakes in the pot down to a pinch.
