Category: Seafood

Cajun Jambalaya

Nothing says Autumn like hearty soups and stews… and here in SoCal, the temperature is often still in triple digits at the end of October (not very Fall-like).  The solution?  A spicy, hearty stew that’s tasty all the time: Cajun Jambalaya!  The observant chef will notice that this dish bears a striking resemblance to paella, but somewhat simpler and with different ingredients.

Note:  This dish also works well served over pasta.  While not traditional, it’s quite delicious.  Simply leave out the rice and cook the pasta of your choice according to package directions.

Time: 60 minutes
Level: Easy/Intermediate
Cost: About $4-6 per plate
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

  1. 1 TBSP olive oil
  2. 2 TBSP butter, divided
  3. 1 TBSP Creole Seasoning (I just use Emeril Lagasse’s version, found here
  4. 2-3 chicken breasts, cubed
  5. 12oz – 1lb Andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
  6. 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
  7. 1 large Spanish (or yellow) onion, diced (see How to Chop an Onion to streamline this process)
  8. 1 large green bell pepper, diced
  9. Roughly 1.5 – 2 cups celery, chopped
  10. 4-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
  11. 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  12. 1 tsp hot sauce (any kind will do depending on your flavor preference and heat tolerance)
  13. 1 14oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
  14. 4 cups chicken stock
  15. 2 cups white rice

Instructions

Mix about 1/2 TBSP creole seasoning with chicken in one bowl, and in another bowl mix the remaining 1/2 TBSP with the shrimp.  Mix well.  Cover, and reserve in refrigerator.

Heat a medium saute pan or large skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP olive oil to the pan.  When butter is melted, add sausage and brown nicely on all sides, 5-7 minutes.  Remove with slotted spoon and reserve.

In the same pan, add chicken.  Brown nicely all around.  Remove with slotted spoon and reserve.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 TBSP butter.  Once butter is melted, add onion bell pepper and celery.  Sauté, stirring constantly, until very fragrant and onions are mostly translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes.   Add hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and canned tomatoes.  Cook all these ingredients together for about another 7 minutes stirring constantly to ensure nothing burns or gets stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Add rice and continue to stir into mixture for about 1 minute.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add chicken, sausage and any drippings back into the pan and give everything a good stir.  This is the last time you’ll stir it.

Cover, and reduce heat to a low simmer, about 30 minutes until the rice has filled the pan and is no longer crunchy.  (You can test the doneness of the rice by removing a grain or two with a spoon – if it’s crunchy but all the liquid has absorbed, add about 2 TBSP of water, give everything a good shake, recover the pan and wait another 5 minutes or so.  Repeat this process until rice is cooked, if neccessary).

Once the rice is cooked and has reached the desired consistency, tuck the shrimp into the mixture and cook, covered for about 5 – 7 minutes, until they are a nice orange color and no longer translucent.

Serve in bowls with crusty bread.  Enjoy!

 

Easy New England Clam Chowder

This version of a New England classic is as easy as it is delicious.  Perfect for a cold night, it is garnished with bacon bits and oyster crackers and is best served with a rustic, crusty bread (for dipping) or warm biscuits.
Growing up in Massachusetts my family and I used to take an annual vacation down to a little island called Planting Island just off of Cape Cod.  I remember gathering clams from the muck in the shallow, brackish waters behind the causeway that led to the island.  My cousin would then make a delicious chowder.  This recipe, however, uses canned clams rather than fresh ones because fresh ones are an enormous pain in the rear end to gather, scrub, steam and de-sand.  A true New Englander would probably shoot me, but being a California transplant fresh clams are in short supply and I’ve never noticed an appreciable difference.  Without further ado, here goes:

Time: 60 Minutes
Level: Easy
Cost: $4-6/plate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp butter, divided
  • 4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • 1.5 – 2 cups celery, diced
  • 3-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp tobasco (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chunked
  • 1 15oz can low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 bottle clam juice
  • juice from 4 (4oz) canned clams (3 cans minced, 1 chopped)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp cold water (optional for thickening; this is called a slurry, by the way) OR
  • Optional for roux, if you like a really thick chowder…
    1. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
    2. 1/4 cup flour

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, sauté bacon until nearly all the fat is rendered and bacon is well browned (Note:  You’re going to brown it a lot more than you would when you’re cooking breakfast, you want to be able to crush it in your hands to make bacon bits!)  Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels to drain.
  2. Remove pan from heat and melt 1 Tbsp butter in bacon fat.  Reduce heat to medium and return the pan to the stove
    1. Note:  Make sure the fat has cooled somewhat; you don’t want hot bacon grease splattering everywhere in the next step!  Also, it will burn your ingredients and the whole meal will taste burnt.  This is really important, and is the only place where you can really screw up this recipe.  If you’re not sure how hot the fat is, toss ONE little piece of onion into the fat; if it crackles loudly and grease spatters everywhere, it’s still too hot.  You basically don’t want anything to react when you toss it in the pan.
  3. Add onion, celery and parsley to pan and sauté in bacon fat until onion is translucent, 3-5 minutes.  (This combination of stuff is called a sofríto, by the way).
  4. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes.
  5. If using, add Tabasco and cayenne and saute until fragrant, 1 minute (Trust me on this, use these ingredients – I know it sounds crazy in clam chowder but it adds a nice zing without being overpowering)
  6. Add potatoes, chicken broth, bottle of clam juice, and juice from canned clams.  If there isn’t enough liquid to cover the potatoes by at least 1/2 inch, add warm water until the potatoes are submerged.  Cover, bring to a rapid boil, remove cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and allow liquid to reduce and sauce to thicken until potatoes are cooked through, 20 – 30 minutes (test the potatoes by sticking a fork in them).
  7. Once sauce has reached desired consistency and potatoes are done, stir in clams, cream, and remaining butter.  Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes more (clams don’t take long to cook).
  8. If your chowder isn’t thick enough, add the slurry of cornstarch and water OR
  9. Optional, if you like a really thick chowder:  Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a small saucepan and slowly whisk in the flour all while continuously whisking.  Incorporate the flour and continue to stir, until the mixture becomes a light blond color.  Remove from heat and continue to whisk vigorously.  After 1-2 minutes, add 1/4 cup of the soup mixture to the roux and continue to whisk vigorously (did I mention to whisk vigorously?  Don’t stop whisking!)  Once the soup mixture is incorporated into the roux, add the contents of the sauce pan back into the chowder and stir.  It will thicken tremendously.
  10. Turn off heat and stir for 3 -5 minutes to aid the cooling process and help flavors marry.

Serve into bowls and garnish with reserved bacon bits and oyster crackers.  Serve with bread or biscuits.