suemunzlinger's Recipe

Quintessential's Jambalaya

Category: Copy Cat Recipes (I have not tried all of these recipes)

Yield: 8 cups, 3 to 4 servings

3/4 pound andouille sausage, diced

1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, diced

2 tablespoons gumbo filé (see note)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

Chili powder*see note

Ground red (cayenne) pepper*see note

Kosher or sea salt* see note

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

4 ribs celery, diced

1/2 large green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup Schlafly Pale Ale beer

8 ounces canned diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

1 cup long-grain white rice

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock

Grilled blackened shrimp, for serving (see note)

1. In a skillet, cook andouille until a light crust forms on the edges, stirring as necessary. Transfer to a bowl. Add chicken to the skillet; cook, stirring as necessary, until no pink remains. Add to the andouille.

2. In a bowl, combine gumbo filé, cumin, paprika and black pepper. Add up to 2 tablespoons chili powder, up to 1 tablespoon cayenne and up to 2 tablespoons salt (see note). Stir to combine.

3. In a large heavy pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and green pepper; cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add about half the spice mixture and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are just soft. Add andouille, chicken and beer and bring to a simmer. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

4. Add tomatoes, Worcestershire, beef bouillon and the remaining spice mixture; bring to a simmer.

5. Add rice and stock, and return to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to maintain a slow simmer. Cook until rice is done, stirring gently occasionally, about 25 minutes.

6. To serve, arrange jambalaya on serving plates; top with blackened shrimp.


Notes:

Gumbo filé (also called filé powder; pronounced fi-LAY or FEE-lay) flavors and thickens Cajun dishes such as gumbo and jambalaya. Look for it with Creole- and Cajun-style spices. Filé is made from dried sassafras leaves.

*Using the full amounts of chili powder, cayenne and salt results in an extremely spicy and salty dish. Use less to taste; if the andouille is spicy, consider reducing the chili powder and cayenne greatly or eliminating them.

When making blackened shrimp, Quintessential uses Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blend for Blackened Redfish. The cooks arrange three grilled blackened shrimp on each serving plate.

Make-ahead variation: Quintessential's cooks make big pots of jambalaya but stop the cooking when the rice is three-quarters done. The rice is cooled completely on baking sheets, then refrigerated. As orders come in, each plate is finished to order, then topped with blackened shrimp.

What makes Quintessential Jambalaya special, is fresh ingredients cooked slowly. "We don't hurry the jambalaya along. That's the slow Southern style of cooking, the flavors develop in layers." To best re-create the spicy rice dish at home, stir the rice only occasionally and even then, gently. "The rice should remain in distinct grains. You don't want it to get mushy

Recipe adapted for home kitchens by the Post-Dispatch