Fit Fare

Jambalaya is probably one of my all time favorite foods. It tastes good outside on the porch on a warm sunny day or indoors on a cold chilly night. There is just no bad time to have jambalaya. I recently shared a pork and chicken jambalaya recipe on Fit Fare and wanted to follow it up with a seafood based recipe.

This was my first attempt at making a seafood jambalaya and it took several tries to develop a recipe I was happy to share. I never realized how hard it would be to keep the shrimp from getting overdone and the rice from being underdone. My traditional jambalaya is baked in the oven. My first attempt using shrimp resulted in a mushy rice inner layer, rubbery shrimp and a crunchy rice topping. It had great flavor but the textures were all wrong.

The final recipe is cooked on top of the stove; the shrimp is added near the end to keep it from getting overdone, and I slightly increased the oil content to keep the rice from getting mushy. I found that letting the pot sit, covered and off the heat, for about 20 minutes before serving resulted in the right rice texture. Adjust the seasonings to your taste. This recipe serves up a medium heat spiced dish.

3 Tbsp peanut or canola oil
1/2 c onion, chopped
1/2 c green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 c green onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
3/4 c long grain rice
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a heavy pot over medium heat, saute the onion, bell pepper, green onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are tender. Stir in the broth, hot sauce, salt, cayenne pepper and Kitchen Bouquet; bring mixture to a boil. Add rice, cover, and turn heat to low.

Cook for 20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid and is cooked through.

Gently stir the shrimp into the jambalaya; cover and cook until shrimp is done, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Keep covered for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Serve hot.