Quick and Easy Jambalaya
215 days ago
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If you need a little pick-me-up in your menu planning, this Quick and Easy Jambalaya will do the trick.
The recipe came about during one of the challenges I had when competing in “Hey, Can You Cook?!” on Rachael Ray’s television show. I was tasked with coming up with a dish using sausage, olives and chicken thighs. I quickly put together a mish-mash of ingredients and found that the mixture actually tasted great. The judges loved the flavors and I won the challenge.
Along with how great this jambalaya tastes, it’s also done and on the table in just 30 minutes.
Preparing the Ingredients
The 7″ Santoku knife is a good choice for dicing all the veggies for this dish. It easily slices through the waxy skin of the red peppers.
It is also great for dicing the celery and will effortlessly cut through those tough strands that run down the stalks.
Take a look at Cutco’s How to Cut a Bell Pepper and How to Cut Celery tutorials to learn more.
The peppers, celery and onions in this traditional Cajun and Creole dish are known as the “holy trinity.” They serve as the base for not only this jambalaya, but many other recipes in and around Louisiana.
Andouille sausage adds some substance to this dish, but it also adds smoky and savory flavor. Use Cutco’s Santoku-Style Trimmer to cut it into cubes. The knife’s sharp Double-D® edge glides through the meat, making the task move along quickly.
You can also easily cube up the chicken thighs with the Santoku-Style Trimmer.
Putting it Together
The vegetables are sautéed for only about four minutes and then removed from the pan. The sausage and chicken are added and cooked until done, and then the vegetables are added back in along with the remaining ingredients to simmer for 10 minutes. How easy is that!
This is an all-in-one meal, but feel free to serve it alongside some cornbread, cheddar biscuits or garlic bread. Another great side for jambalaya is my Collard Greens recipe, which is also featured here on Cutco’s blog.
This Quick and Easy Jambalaya will instantly become a new menu favorite. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red sweet bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow sweet bell pepper, diced
- 1 orange sweet bell pepper, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound andouille sausage, cubed
- 1 pound boneless/skinless chicken thighs (or shrimp), cubed
- 1 pound quartered tomatoes (or a 28-ounce can of tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup halved, pitted green olives or Castelvetrano olives
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Top with 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley (or chopped cilantro)
Directions
- In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, add the oil.
- Toss in bell peppers, celery, onions and garlic, and sauté for about 4 minutes.
- Remove vegetables from the pan and add the sausage and chicken.
- Once the chicken is cooked, add the vegetables back into the pot.
- Continue by adding the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Tip: If the dish is too thick for your taste, add a quarter-cup of chicken stock or water.
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