Cajun Jambalaya

Jambalaya involves a lot of chopping but it’s easy to prepare well ahead of time so that you can just finish it off half an hour before serving. The Cajun combination of celery, green capsicum and onion forms the basis of this dish.

JAMBALAYA

SERVES 8

Ingredients

• Light olive oil, for frying
• 4 chorizo sausages, sliced lengthways and diced
• 6 chicken fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
• and seasoned
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 green capsicums, deseeded (not a single seed, please) and finely chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped to match the onion and capsicum
• 1 packet Cajun seasoning
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups long-grain rice
• Spring onions, chopped, to garnish

Method

1. Heat a large tall heavy-based pan over fairly high heat. Add a dash of olive oil and fry the chorizo until it is well browned. Remove and set aside.
2. Add the chicken pieces to the chorizo-flavoured oil and brown; remove and set aside.
3. Turn down the heat slightly then add the onion, capsicum and celery and cook until softened.
4. Throw the chicken and chorizo back into the pan, add generous amounts of Cajun seasoning and stir until all the ingredients are well blended.
5. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and add the rice (add more if you want this dish to stretch further). Cover securely with both foil and the pan lid and gently cook for 10 minutes. Leave for 20 minutes then serve garnished with the spring onions.
6. My tip is to prepare everything beforehand, up to a point just before you add the chicken stock.
7. That way, when guests arrive you can just bring the stock to the boil, add the rice, and have the meal ready in about 35 minutes. It gets all the messiness out of the way before guests arrive.