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seafood
1
chicken, sausage & prawn jambalaya
© David Loftus

chicken, sausage & prawn jambalaya

servings
8-10
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method


Jambalaya is a French word that means ‘jumbled’ or ‘mixed up’, and I have no doubt that the philosophy and heart of this recipe come from a similar place to paella, kedgeree and risotto.

Originally, any Louisiana ‘critter’ unlucky enough to get caught would have gone into this: rabbit, duck, squirrel, frog, alligator. . . you name it! And similarly, you can adapt it to whatever your local butcher or fishmonger happens to have. Go cheaper by using things like frozen prawns and chicken livers, or more expensive by including lobster or crab. I used an incredible local smoked sausage called andouille, but fresh chorizo or any other smoked sausage would work just as well.

This dish makes me happy every time I eat it. And if more people than expected turn up for dinner just add a bit of extra rice.


Season the chicken with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Pour a couple of lugs of oil into a large casserole type pan and brown the chicken pieces and sliced sausage over a medium heat. After 5 minutes, once nicely browned on all sides, add your onion, peppers and celery as well as your bay, thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir, then fry on a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes stirring every now and again. It’s important to control the heat of the pan: you don’t want it to be so slow nothing’s happening, or so fast that things are catching and burning. You want a steady, solid heat.

Once the veg have softened, add your garlic and chillies, stir around for a minute, then stir in the tinned tomatoes and chicken stock.

Bring everything to the boil, then turn the heat down, pop the lid on the pan and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. When you can pull the meat off the bone and shred it easily the chicken’s ready. Feel free to remove the chicken bones at this point if you like, then add your rice. Give it all a good stir, then put the lid on. Give it a stir every few minutes, scraping the goodness off the bottom of the pan as you go. Let it cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is perfectly cooked. Stir in the prawns and if it needs it, add enough water to make it a kind of porridgey consistency (look at the pictures). Pop the lid back on and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes while you chop your parsley. Stir the parsley through and serve on a lovely big platter. I absolutely love this with a lemony green salad.

Wine suggestion:
American Pinot Noir – try one from Oregon


Find out more about Jamie’s American Road Trip tv show and Jamie’s America Book

ingredients


• 4 chicken thighs, skin on, preferably free-range or organic
• 4 chicken drumsticks, skin on, preferably free-range or organic
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• olive oil
• 300g smoked sausage, such as andouille or fresh chorizo, skin removed, cut into 1cm thick slices
• 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 4 sticks of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 4 fresh bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1.5 liters chicken stock, preferably organic
• 700g long-grain rice
• 16–20 raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
• a handful of fresh curly parsley

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tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...
1. by Jane on Sat 12 Nov 2011 @ 19:04

Just made it for the first time and it was lovely!<br /> Thanks Jamie.<br />

2. by Hannah on Fri 27 May 2011 @ 04:30

My partner makes this and it is incredible. We now make it once a fortnight. I'm the main and he only knows a few recipes but I always get him to make this when he feels like cooking as it's so good!<br /> <br /> The only thing we change is use chicken breast as a few other users have suggested and we omit the celery (just personal taste) otherwise it's same recipe and it's great! Does freeze well and you will have leftovers.

3. by Toni on Tue 24 May 2011 @ 01:17

hi i made this recipe for the first time about 5 weeks ago now and have made it twice more since then i find its easy to do, tastes great and freezes really well too, i did make a few changes as i can never stick completely to a recipe i use breast meat insted of thigh or drums as one of my sons doesnt like meat on the bone also it cuts down some of the cooking time and didnt bother with the prawns also i used lemon thyme and schwarts cook art mediterranean spiced sea salt .Because it makes up quite a big batch i even took some to my dad and brother who gave it a big thumbs up and earned me a "your a blooming great cook" from my dad which every daddys girl likes to hear so thankyou jamie keep up the good work

4. by Mazz81 on Mon 23 May 2011 @ 21:26

I made this yesterday for myself and my partner (cutting all the ingredients by half and using only chicken thighs).<br /> <br /> It was absolutely delicious - much nicer than I expected! We also had plenty of food left for 3 portions the next day! I put it in the fridge, took out the prawns and added a little stock and reheated it in a shallow saucepan. Once the extra stock had evaporated, I added pre-cooked prawns and stirred for a minute or two until they were hot. It was just as nice as the first day! So this is a great meal that (when ingredients are halved) can easily feed five people! Yum! Will defo be making this again - and certainly if I have quite a few guests to cook for! Would be perfect for a party!

5. by Gabor Tanacs on Tue 26 Apr 2011 @ 13:52

Delicious

6. by OceansinPeril on Mon 11 Oct 2010 @ 19:58

I love Cajun cooking, in particular gumbo and Bayou Shimps. Have to say, to me Louisiana boasts flavor, great food, and try Abita beer!

7. by stompy73 on Tue 06 Jul 2010 @ 09:47

nice one

8. by stompy73 on Tue 06 Jul 2010 @ 09:11

yummy

9. by Liz on Tue 10 Nov 2009 @ 09:45

I love this recipe. I've made it a couple of times now.
I tend to break it into portions just before adding the rice - then I can store it in the freezer for a quick and tasty meal when I get home from work. Bring to the boil, chuck in the rice, 15 minutes later it's done.

10. by Richard on Sun 11 Oct 2009 @ 19:08

This is R.tasty, I made it with just chicken breast instead of thighs/drumsticks for convenience and it was delicious 1st time. Plenty left over for the week too.

11. by josh on Sat 03 Oct 2009 @ 10:04

gonna try it tonight, let y'all know ....

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