Celebrating Creole with Zesty Jambalaya

♫ click here for jazzy listening

Many moons ago the US claimed Louisiana from the French for less than four cents an acre.

In honor of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase’ anniversary this Monday and the rich culinary culture of its star city New Orleans, let’s make some jambalaya.

Zesty, comforting, and with that spicy Andouille kick, the dish is sure to satisfy your appetite for a classic Bayou meal.

Creole/Cajun is among the country’s oldest cuisines and was once practiced by indigenous tribes who hunted, fished and farmed for over 3,500 years before Columbus made his way to the States. Many of these ingredients have stood the test of time in the South. Take shrimp, crawfish, and filé powder – a spice made from ground sassafras leaves, used today to add character to gumbo.

A hybrid of Louisiana’s French, Spanish and Southern US heritage; jambalaya is influenced by Spanish paella, native tribes and très français food techniques.

One catch – most might not call jambalaya a “beginner” dish per se. No worries. Here, we’ll break down the hows and whys of this Louisiana favorite so you too can relax, throw on some jazz tunes, and get down with Creole in your kitchen.

New Orleans Chef John Besh recalls summer nights spent cooking cast iron jambalaya over a fire with family and friends in My New Orleans: The Cookbook. You can find his jambalaya recipe below.

Besh's take on the meal involves strategically-used spices like pimenton de la Vera smoked paprika, celery salt, cayenne, loads of garlic and a few bay leaves with thyme - which all work together to develop complex flavors early on.

The texture of the dish lies in its base brown - caramelizing onions, chicken, celery, Andouille sausage, bell peppers, bacon and (gasp!) a smidge of lard, all cooked in a heaping 3-5 gallon pot.

After this step, any jambalaya buff will add the rice and spice. This allows the grains to cook for several minutes in their own broth, a crucial step for flavoring the rice. Next we add tomatoes and chicken stock, allowing the rice (use beige, not white rice) to cook and flavor further.

At the very last minute, you’ll add the salt-and-pepper seasoned shrimp to ensure the seafood does not get too gummy having cooked for too long.

At any point in the recipe, you might, if you’re like me, think: What’s a Southern dish without some green tomatoes? If so, add them to the caramelizing step with onions and the lot. If you want to use okra, another Southern favorite – don’t add this then. It will start to mush and develop a slime! Instead, add okra with the shrimp toward the end.

If you’re a vegetarian or prefer something more seafood-based, feel free to nix the meats and sub them with some veggies and/or fish of your choice during the browning stage. Replacing chicken stock with vegetable will also turn out just fine. (Going seafood? Might I suggest a mix of crawfish, shrimp and mussels.)

For more recipes by Chef Besh, you can view his cookbook online. You might even want to take it all the way and pay homage to the Louisiana Purchase with some beignets and café brulot à la Emeril.

Either chance, heed warning that somewhere between the scent of Cajun spices dancing through your kitchen air with jazz’s sweet disposition - you might find yourself entranced by New Orleans.

Photos and recipe courtesy of My New Orleans: The Cookbook by John Besh