Créole Jambalaya

Recipes are all around us. They get handed down through generations of family. Often they are shared through friends. Sometimes you have to wait a while for the right recipe[s] to come along.

A while back while grocery shopping i saw a recipe for jambalaya on a box of rice. It was not on my preferred brand of rice and it seemed to be there more as a marketing device to get the consumer to buy the rice and not so much to provide a tasty recipe.

More recently i found a great recipe for Créole Jambalaya in the Picayune Créole Cookbook. i do not eat pork, so when i prepare the traditional Créole Jambalaya i will substitute the pork portions with beef. Also this recipe calls for the rice to be blended in with the other ingredients but my preference is to spoon the jambalaya on top of a bed of rice.

"Recipe For ~ Créole Jambalaya aka Jambalaya a la Créole: Jambalaya is a Spanish-Créole dish, which is a great favorite in New Orleans, and is made according to the following recipe: 1 1/2 cups of rice 1 Lb Fresh Pork 1 Slice of Ham 1 Dozen Fine Chorizos (Pork Sausages) 2 Onions 1 Tablespoonful of Butter 2 Cloves of Garlic 2 Sprigs Each of Thyme and Parsley 2 Bay Leaves 2 Cloves Ground very fine. 3 Quarts of Beef Broth or Hot Water (Broth Preferred).
1/2 Spoonful of Chili Pepper. Salt, Pepper and Cayenne to Taste."

"Cut the pork very fine, lean and fat, into pieces of about-half an inch square. Chop the onions very fine, and mince the garlic and fine herbs. Grind the cloves. Put a tablespoonful of butter into the sauce pan, and add the onions and pork, and let them brown slowly. Stir frequently, and let them continue browning slightly. At this stage, add the slice of ham, chopped very fine, and the cloves of garlic. Then add the minced herbs, thyme, bay leaf and parsley and cloves."

"Let all this brown for five minutes longer, and add a dozen fine Chorizos, cut apart, and let all cook five minutes longer. Then add the three quarts of water or broth, always using in preference' the broth. Let it all cook for ten minutes, and when it comes to a boil add the rice, which has been carefully washed. Then add to this a half teaspoonful of Chili pepper, and salt and Cayenne to taste. The Creoles season highly with Cayenne. Let all boil for a half hour longer, or until the rice is firm, and serve hot."

Text Credit: The Picayune Creole Cookbook