Chicken & Ham Jambalaya
Back in the early days of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, I made a pilgrimage to New Orleans, and it seemed natural to bring some of the wonders of the Big Easy back up north. The thing that really grabbed me was jambalaya, a dish with infinite possibilities. There’s no one recipe for jambalaya because its whole reason for bein’ is to let the cook get personal and real creative with the bits of meat or fish hangin’ around in the fridge. You can give it your personal touch any way the spirit moves you. Try makin’ it with other veggies, throwin’ in some shellfish, messin’ with the seasoning—this is your chance to be a link in the evolution of one truly great leftover dish.
Here’s a double leftover idea. Take leftover jambalaya and stuff it into hollowed-out peppers or tomatoes. Bake at 350° til the veggie containers are soft, 30 minutes for tomatoes or 45 minutes for peppers. Serve with some Mutha Sauce ladled over the top.
Recipe information
Yield
feeds 4 generously as a main course or 8 as an appetizer
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pour the oil into a large Dutch oven and set it over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the onions, green peppers, celery, and jalapeños. Season with salt and pepper and cook til soft and tinged with brown. Toss in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more; then add the chicken. Cook for about 4 minutes, turning the pieces and mixing them with the veggies.
Step 2
Stir in the ham and pour in the broth, tomatoes, and Mutha Sauce. Now drop in the bay leaf and dump in the rice. Give everything a stir, and spice it up with some Tabasco. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot and turn down the heat to a low simmer. Cook for 25 minutes without stirring.
Step 3
Uncover and fish out the bay leaf. Mix everything well. Season with lots of freshly ground black pepper, and add the thyme, cayenne, and scallions. Then spoon it up.
