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Kielbasa Jambalaya

Lately, I have been wondering about the origin of jambalaya. So, I did a little research. When the Spanish explores discovered (what would become) the Louisiana territory and became colonists… they invented a local version of their home dish of Spanish paella. But since saffron is not native to our southern states, tomatoes were used instead. Later, in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana this dish continued to grow in popularity. Jambon is French for ham. And Aya can be loosely translated as African for rice. And apparently, that is how jambalaya was named for this famous creole dish.

 3 tablespoons olive oil
 ½ pound kielbasa, sliced
 ½ pound smoked ham, cubed
 2 tablespoons butter
 1 medium onion, diced
 1 cup celery, sliced (about 2 large stalks)
 1 orange, green or yellow bell pepper, diced
 4 cloves garlic, minced
 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes (I recommend muir glen organic with no salt)
 ½ to 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and minced (depends on how much heat you like)
 2 teaspoons oregano
 1 teaspoon thyme
 2 tablespoons tomato paste (tube is more convenient)
 5 cups chicken stock
 1 cup water (if chicken stock is thick… or not necessary if using chicken broth)
 1 ½ cups long grain rice
 2 teaspoons salt
 1 teaspoon pepper
 ½ cup chopped scallions, divided
 ¾ cup fresh parsley, divided (if using from a jar… half as much and make sure you bought it recently)
 ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
 ½ pound medium large shrimp (remove tail, shell and refrigerate as the shrimp is last to go into the pot)
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This looks like a lot of ingredients… but it’s more about prep time for slicing vegies and meat. Also, this is the easiest and most delicious version of jambalaya I have made. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a Dutch oven pot over medium heat. Add the kielbasa and stir for 4-5 minutes. When brown, remove to a separate plate. Add ham and stir for 4-5 minutes. When brown, remove and add to the kielbasa plate. Add remaining oil and butter. Add onion, celery, peppers, salt and pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir. Add tomato, jalapeno, oregano, thyme and tomato paste. Cook until all vegetables are well blended.

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Add 3 cups of stock, kielbasa, and ham. Bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce to a simmer for a half hour. At this stage, turn off the heat. When you plan to eat is now your decision as the rest of the preparation will take about an hour to complete. The pot can stay on the stove covered without heat until you are an hour out. At that point, bring the jambalaya to a boil and add rice.

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Stir and add remaining stock and water. Reduce to simmer for 20 minutes stirring rice periodically. Add ¼ cup of scallions, ¼ cup parsley, lemon juice and shrimp.

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Stir well so the shrimp nestle into the middle of the jambalaya. And this is the easy part, turn off the heat and cover.Fifteen minutes later, stir the jambalaya and serve. Top the bowls with remaining scallions and parsley. If you have leftovers, store in refrigerator for up to several days. (I do not recommend freezing as no mater how you thaw out… it will become a bit mushier than you would like.) To reheat, remove the shrimp. Warm in microwave oven. Then but the shrimp back in (the shrimp is already cooked the first go around so you don’t want to microwave them as leftovers… they will become hard and chewy). This serves 4 as an entrée.

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