Notes from Stella's Kitchen
(Originally published in April 2005)
Jambalaya is defined by Webster as “French Louisiana for a mixture of diverse elements.” Perhaps a strange way to describe such a wonderful dish, but in a way it’s true. The origin of the name is unknown, but a pretty good guess is that it came from the Spanish word for ham, jamon and ham has always been one of the prime ingredients in the recipe for jambalaya.
In Louisiana, Jambalaya appears to have found its way into Creole cooking in the late 1700’s. Local flavors, seasonings and ingredient defined the dish then as well as today with the French, Spanish, African and American Indian populations constantly adding their own special touches to the dish as the years went by.
As a result, the Jambalaya we know today is a highly variable Cajun/Creole entrée consisting of diverse amounts of meats, rice, seafood and seasonings. The major ingredient of the dish is its chief variant and this can be ham, fresh pork, chicken, sausage, shrimp, or oysters. Two or three of these may be combined to form the sole main ingredients of the dish, but usually the best Jambalaya consists of medleys of all of these in delicious concoctions.
The main ingredients are usually cooked in shortening and seasoned with onion, garlic, pepper, salt and various herbs and spices. Rice is then added to give the dish body and texture. It’s the kind of thing you make when you decide to clean out the refrigerator and find you have lots of perfectly good odds and ends left over. They all go into one pot and comes out a wonderful dinner.
Jambalaya can be prepared in a large pot on the stovetop or in a 30-gallon black pot out on the grill or Cajun cooker. The secret to making a delicious jambalaya is to perfect a personal blend of flavors that have a good consistency. This is an art that cooks or chiefs in this area of the South make or break their reputation. The practice fields for famous recipes began with large gatherings at the turn of the century starting with church fairs and progressing from generation to generation to enter in festivals and championship cooking contests.
But the recipe for a good Jambalaya is really a rather personal tool of a good cook. Such a dish is handy to have for large gatherings when you really don’t know the number of people will attend. A large pot of jambalaya can be stretched a long way and is a perfect “comfort food” for just about any number. It can be supplemented with lots of a good green salad and crusty French bread and there will be plenty to eat and keep your guests happy.
When Dr. Sidney told Paul that his cholesterol was a little too high, I found a recipe for jambalaya that would cut down on almost all the bad things in the dish that we should stay away from. Of course, I had to modify the recipe to our own taste. We quickly found out that my new recipe tasted even better than the other recipe I typically used. I made this much more spicy, a little hotter and used Canadian bacon instead of regular ham and it tasted great.
The recipe I concocted follows. Remember that it is very flexible and you will have to work at it to see just how you like it best and the ingredients you like to use the most. Give it a try and good luck.
Bon Appetit!
