Mardi Gras Recipe: Jambalaya

Mardi Gras is a carnival-like celebration enjoyed all over the world. Originally it was an ancient Roman festival that was translated into Christianity when the Romans became Christian. It became the last opportunity for frivolous and wild behavior before the Lenten season, the time for personal sacrifice to remember Christ's sacrifice for the world.

Mardi Gras is celebrated now all over the world with elaborate masks, free range drinking, dancing, all night parties, and great feasts featuring delicious Cajun food. Mardi Gras became established as an American festivity through the Cajun culture in New Orleans. For this reason, so many of the foods now associated with Mardi Gras are of Cajun origin. Jambalaya, a traditional New Orleans dish, is now a favorite Mardi Gras staple. The word "Jambalaya" is a Creole word meaning "stew of rice and fowl". Today however, though Jambalaya is still made with rice, the fowl is often replaced with sausage and crawfish, both abundant in New Orleans.

Because crawfish is not always available, I usually make Jambalaya with spicy sausage, shrimp, and chunks of ham. Below is my favorite Jambalaya recipe:

Sausage Shrimp and Ham Jambalaya

Ingredients

3 T oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large green pepper, finely chopped

1 pound smoked sausage length cut in 1 inch chunks

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 pound shrimp

½ pound baked ham, cut into bite-sized chunks

3 cups long grain rice

6 cups vegetable broth

4 bay leaves

3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

Salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (to taste)

Directions

Heat onions and green peppers in a Dutch oven over medium heat until onions become translucent.

Add the sausage and cook for about 3 - 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and stir fry until garlic becomes soft.

Add the tomatoes, shrimp, and ham.

Add the vegetable broth and the bay leaves.

Stir slowly until it all comes to a boil.

Turn the heat down to low and add rice.

Add salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Stir once, then cover with a tight lid and simmer until all the rice is absorbed (about 20 - 40 minutes.)

When the rice is done, stir again before serving. If you want more seasoning, now is the time to add it.

Serve in individual bowls.