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Jambalaya

Everybody and their brother-in-law has their own favorite way of cooking jambalaya, and I'm no different, I suppose. This recipe is basically how my family in and around Houma cooks it. About the only difference between this recipe and how my great grandma cooked it is that nowadays we have spices in a shaker can, so we don't have to worry about adding a little of this-n-that to the pot.

Ingredients

Method of cooking

Chop the veggies the way you like them. I go for larger chunks, but mincing them would make them brown (and burn) quicker.

Add those veggies (all except the garlic) to a well-seasoned black cast-iron pot with oil and brown them, really brown, but as you approach really brown, add a couple of tablespoons of water and reduce the heat, and cook a few minutes more. If you simmer them long enough, you'll get this wonderful dark brown slurry, which is what we're after.

Once you get the hang of it, you'll probably start browning onions this way for everything else you cook. Incidently, this method of browning onions apparently came to bayou country during the Spanish period of Louisiana's history.

Once you have your onions browned properly, add your meat and brown that a while. Note: if you're adding shrimp (prawns for you Australians), cook only a short time, as they don't need much cooking.

At some point you're going to want to dump in your water (or stock, if you're using that), but before you do that, add the garlic to the pot, and cook for another minute. Once you do that, then add the liquid.

Shake some (how much? a little practice and you'll have it figured out) of the cajun seasoning into the pot, along with the rice and chopped parsley, stir once and bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, stir once again and cover, for perhaps 20 to 30 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the water is absorbed.

Gumbo, anyone?

If you like this recipe, I've another one for Gumbo, made using the same techniques posted here.