Creole jambalaya

‍The science of eating well: exotic, healthy, quick and delicious recipes.

Since it is the 4th of July, it seems that something uniquely American is called for with our recipe this week. I racked my brains—low-cal, nutritious, somewhat exotic—almost all the distinctly US dishes, like apple pie or cheesecake or super-large burger, hash browns, collard greens seemed ruled out. Surely, I asked myself, not everything American makes us fat, get dementia earlier or heart disease sooner (all of the above do)?

Time to think out of the box. I did a bit of experimenting and came up with my own version of creole (as opposed to Cajun) jambalaya. Essentially creole jambalya uses tomatoes and Cajun doesn’t, and it’s a bit milder. The traditional recipes for this dish include andouille sausage but please avoid that ingredient—it’s fabulous for promoting heart disease. I want Tribe members to live to at least 150.

I also used black rice rather than the usual white rice since it’s better for you nutritionally and adds its own unique flavor to the dish.

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Ingredients

• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, (adjust to suit your tastes/heat preference)
• 300 gms (10 oz) white fish—as I am in Australia I used barramundi
• 500 gms (1 lb) boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 large onion diced
• 1 small green or yellow bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and sliced
• 1 small red bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 tblsp garlic, minced
• 2 large tomatoes finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp each dried thyme and dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne powder
• 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked black rice
• 3 cups low-salt chicken-type stock
• 500 gms raw or cooked shrimp/prawns tails on or off, peeled and deveined
• Chopped parsley, to garnish

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‍Directions:

1. Season the chicken pieces with half of the Cajun seasoning.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven.
3. Sauté chicken until lightly browned. Remove with slotted spoon; set aside.
4. Sauté the onion, bell pepper and celery until onion is soft and transparent.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (less than a minute).
5. Stir in the tomatoes; season with pepper, thyme, oregano, Cayenne powder, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and the remaining Cajun seasoning. Stir in the cornflour and chicken. Cook for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
6. Add in the rice and stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked, stirring very occasionally.
7. Add the shrimp and fish and stir through gently and cover with lid. Allow to simmer while stirring occasionally, until the fish and shrimp are cooked through and pink (about 5-6 minutes, depending on the size/thickness of the shrimp being used). If the fish and shrimp are cooked, a bit less time is needed—though to be honest it doesn’t matter if you allow the mixture to simmer for six minutes anyway.
8. Remove from heat. Adjust heat with extra hot sauce, Cayenne pepper or Cajun seasoning. Sprinkle on some parsley for looks and serve.

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‍Serves: 7

‍Energy: 1187 kJs (297 calories) per serve