I improvised, and this was a huge success: much tastier than the more traditional jambalaya I made a while back (which was a bit bland, honestly) and took about a third as long.
This is definitely a “poor skills” recipe, and very flexible; like most traditional cuisines, Cajun cooking is all about making something tasty out of leftovers and making a little meat go a long way to feed hungry people. You could double the rice and feed four people instead of the two I fed, though as is this recipe might feed four if one of them wasn’t Ted.
Prep / cooking time: about 30 minutes. Uses only one pot and one frying pan (and since my sausage was frozen, one paper plate to defrost it in the microwave)
Recommended ingredients (comments in parentheses are what I actually used because it’s what I had on hand, or else are suggestions):
Meat:
2 chicken breasts, diced (I used 3 chicken breasts – we buy a big pack at Costco that’s broken up into smaller sealed packages of 3-4 breasts)
1 link of kielbasa or Polish sausage, about 12″/30 cm, sliced (I used something from Costco labeled “kolbasa” that looked right – if I were in the US I’d use turkey sausage unless I were very lucky and had a real Cajun sausage on hand)
(I thought about adding shrimp but already had a lot of meat – you could also substitute 1/2 lb shrimp for the chicken, or just add it and have all three)
Veg:
1/2 onion, diced (I am one of those people like Tonks in Monstrous Regiment who always has a half onion around – a whole onion or a quarter would be fine too)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
1-2 stalks celery, about half a green pepper, both diced (I didn’t, because I didn’t have any, but proper Cajun cooking should include “trinity”)
Other:
15 oz / 240 ml can chicken broth (I’d use homemade if I had it, or bouillon if I didn’t have canned)
1 small can tomato paste (I used 2 oz leftover gravy from the spicy brisket we had the other day – I didn’t have any tomato paste, and did have the gravy to use up, and we use lots of spices and lots of tomato sauce in our crockpot with the brisket. Like I said, it’s all about making due.)
1 cup / 240 ml rice
1-2 t / 5-10 ml Worcestershire sauce
salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, Cajun seasoning, thyme to taste (use lots – the problem with my earlier jambalaya was mostly that it wasn’t spicy enough
enough olive oil to saute stuff in.
In a medium pot, saute the onion and garlic (and celery and pepper, if you have them) in a couple spoonfuls of olive oil until soft. Turn of the heat and stir in the broth, sausage, tomato, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rice, and spices (be generous with the spices unless you really hate spicy food). Cover tightly and simmer on low heat.
While that’s simmering, cut up the chicken if you didn’t already, then saute it in another couple spoons of olive oil, sprinkling it also with Cajun seasoning, thyme, salt and maybe some cayenne. When it’s done, quickly stir it in with the rest, then re-cover it and let it simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is soft.