I grew up eating Cajun food, and eventually tried to cook it on my own. This is my own version of jambalaya.
First, I sautéed in olive oil the Cajun holy trinity (mirepoix/base): onions, green bell peppers, and celery:
Once they started to get soft, I added brown rice to toast:
Then I added red bell peppers and tomatoes. Any vegetable you can find, really:
The stock I added was special this time. I’d gotten a crawfish boil from the Chili Brothers Traveling Medicine Show/Food Company (based in Saunderstown, RI) at the Rhythm and Roots Festival in Charlestown, RI. I’d saved the spicy shells and made a stock out of them, because I make stock out of everything I possibly can. This stock contained the vast, vast majority of the seasoning needed for this dish (with the exception of the very important filé powder, ground sassafras leaves, which I use in all kinds of dishes as a thickener and earthy spice):
I added andouille sausage (after removing the casing and making little meatballs) and shrimp:
Then I added spinach and some other random cooking greens, and let it simmer for a while:
Unfortunately I do not have a good final-result photo. I’ll just have to make some more!
(Shared with Party Wave Wednesday at HolisticSquid.com.)
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