Jilly + Jessie’s Jambalaya
I recently returned from a trip to New Orleans, where an incredible group of friends and I celebrated a dear friend’s birthday. The food in New Orleans is absolutely fantastic. One of the best dishes I had was a cup of jambalaya from a hole-in-the-wall pub on our last day. The flavors were rich and savory.
Ever since I’ve been home, I’ve been craving jambalaya, so I decided to make my favorite jambalaya recipe from Jilly and Jessie Lagasse’s cookbook, The Gluten-Free Table.
My best friend, Michael, gave me this book for my birthday a few years ago, and it’s one of my go-to books for delicious gluten-free recipes. Last year I met Jilly and Jesse at a gluten-free blogger conference, and they signed my book! They were such sweet girls and hearing them speak made me love their food and cookbook even more.
This recipe definitely takes a while, so I suggest planning ahead and making this on a Saturday or Sunday when you have free time. But, despite the long ingredient list, this jambalaya is relatively easy to make! The flavors cook together and create something seriously beautiful! It is worth every minute, I promise. Your house is going to smell delicious, the flavors in this dish will rock your tastebuds and it’s sure to impress whoever you are cooking for.
My favorite gluten-free andouille sausage to use for this is Aidells, but you can use whatever sausage you prefer. I added a little bit more onion, celery and bell pepper than their recipe calls for, because I wanted more “stuff” in the jambalaya. But feel free to cut back if you don’t want to use as much. One cup of each is plenty.
The flavors from this jambalaya will transport you straight to Bourbon Street! You are going to LOVE this!
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Hugs, kisses + yummy dishes… xoxo
Lauren
Jilly + Jessie's Jambalaya
- Total Time: 2 hours
- YIELDS 8-10 servings
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Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the shrimp and Cajun seasoning. Coat all sides evenly. Set aside.
- In a large (10-quart) stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and sausage and cook for five minutes, to brown the sausage, stirring occasionally.
- Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, tomato paste and cayenne and stir will.
- Turn the heat down to low and simmer for five minutes.
- Add the stock, diced tomatoes, celery salt, and salt and black pepper to taste. Stir well and cook another five minutes.
- Add the seasoned shrimp to the pot, cover and simmer for five minutes.
- Add the uncooked rice to the pot, stir well, and bring the mixture up to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, uncovered.
- Once the mixture is boiling, return the heat to low and cook 25 minutes covered, until the rice is cooked through, stirring frequently to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. (It's super important to keep stirring the rice! I set lots of timers so I'd remember to go back to the stove and stir often.)
- Uncover, add about 3/4 of the green onions, reserving the remainder for garnish.
- Stir well and cook another five minutes.
- Taste and re-season if desired.
- Turn off the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves, and serve in bowls.
- Garnish with the remaining green onions.