Recipe Box

These portions yield ~5C Jambalaya. See “Sizing” for guidance on scaling these portions.

• 1 C diced onion (1/2 medium onion)

• 1 C diced bell pepper (1 med-small pepper)

• 1 C diced celery (~3 stalks)

• 1 C rice

• 1T garlic (2-3 toes)

• 1t dried thyme

• 1t cayenne (or to taste)

• 1t smoked (or regular) paprika

• 2C veggie or shrimp stock or water

• 1# large (16/20) or medium (21/25) or any other shellfish

  Unless you’re next to a dock with a cooler full of ice, use frozen, uncooked shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico.

  To speed the process of cleaning shrimp, look for “easy peel” shrimp, such as that offered by the Biloxi Shrimp Co.

• Fat for saute, like EVOO, butter, whatever oil you have

• Salt

• Something green like parsley or green onion

• Vinegar-y hot sauce, like Tabasco, Crystal, Louisiana (or some squeezed lemon juice for less spice)

• Dutch oven (shaped like this)

  Needs to be big enough to contain the cooked rice (~3C cooked volume per 1C dry rice)

• Spoonula (shaped like this one), for example.

• Sharp chef’s knife (shaped like this one)

• Cutting board (like this one :)

These steps should be done before even turning on the stove so that your full attention can go into tending the saute and then the rice.

Shrimp should be used within a few hours of thawing!

Vegetables can be chopped as early as the day before.

Vegetables

1. Chop the following into the pot or into a storage container for later use:

   1. Bell Pepper (dice)
   2. Onion (dice)
   3. Celery (mince)

2. Garlic (mince)

   Put the garlic into a separate bowl so it can be added after the bulkier vegetables have sauteed down a bit.

Shrimp

1. Clean (peel and de-vein) the shrimp

2. Chop the shrimp into bite-sized chunks

   For 16/20 shrimp, for example, that yields 3-4 pieces per shrimp

3. Keep refrigerated until it’s time to add them to the pot

Stock

1. In a saucepan, heat the stock to a simmer

   If you peeled your own shrimp, you can simmer the shells in water to make shrimp stock.

Saute

1. Heat pan over med-high

   1. when hot, add EVOO

2. Add bell pepper, onion, celery and S&P

   1. Saute “until onions soften and everything starts to brown”

3. Add the seasonings and rice

   1. Saute for a minute or so

Make it Jambalaya!

1. Add stock

   Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium

2. Cook uncovered, turning the rice over with the spoonula every few minutes

   Test often! Rice should be just tender and the liquid all but gone

3. Stir in shrimp

   Cook for 2-3 min

4. Garnish with the green stuff, and make hot sauce available

Sizing

(source: “Jambalaya Calculator”)

• Adapted from How to Cook Everything, Bittman, p464.
• “Jambalaya Calculator”, Tigerdroppings.com, https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/food-and-drink/today-5-11-21-is-the-10th-anniversary-of-the-jambalaya-calculator/96311818/, 2024-09-13