Jambalaya

When In New Orleans most People think of Cajun as lots of spicy rich foods.  But, the history of the food is an interesting one.  Jambalaya comes from Paella, which comes from Spain.  Of course there weren’t the exact ingredients to make everything the same so much improvisation came into play.  Because Louisiana is on the Golf coast and at the end of the Mississippi river, seafood is bountiful with large amounts of shrimp, crawfish and other crustaceans along with fresh and salt-water fish.  Chef Folse (one of my favorite chefs of the area) calls the waters/land around New Orleans “the swamp floor pantry”, which I think explains it all.

And like paella, the meats are interchangeable.  What I mean by that is you could replace any of them with seafood or other types of sausage, pork, etc…  One of the common meats used in Jambalaya is tasso, which is a smoked pork or beef of poor quality that is heavily seasoned and spicy.  When it is smoked, it becomes very hard almost like a jerky.  I had a hard time finding it so I substituted a good quality ham.   

1 ea........... Onion (diced)

½ c............ Diced Pepper

4 ea........... Green Onions (diced)

¼ c............ Diced Celery

2 ea........... Garlic Cloves (chopped)

1 ea........... Bay Leaf

½ c............ Olive Oil

2 c............. Tomato Sauce

1 ea........... Chicken Breast

½ c............ Diced Ham

1 ea........... Andouille Sausage

½ lb........... Rice

1.   Make rice according to directions on the package.

2.   Sauté the first 6 ingredients in the oil until caramelized.

3.   Add in the chicken and sausage and sauté until done.

4.   Add in the tomato sauce and ham and simmer for about 15 minutes.

5.   Mix with cooked rice and place in a preheated oven (350°f).

6.   Bake for about 5 minutes.

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!

Gearing up for Superbowl...

Muffaletta

Magic Muffaletta

(A New Orleans style hero sandwich)

You can find a Muffaletta anywhere in New Orleans or most of Louisiana.  It was supposedly made at the Central Grocery on Decatur Street first.  When I visited New Orleans, I waited in a line that rapped around the building for about an hour just to get an authentic one… Well worth the wait! 

I used regular ham in this recipe but traditionally you should use Mortadella ham.  Capicolla will also work.  Both are Italian hams that can be found at Specialty grocers.  The Muffaletta should always be served at room temperature- never toasted! The sandwich is best after it has been out for a bit because the juices soak into the bread. All of the flavors mesh together. Because of this, the Muffaletta is great for parties.

If you want to make this sandwich vegetarian, try grilling eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini, and/or yellow squash.  The olive salad is the magic- it is what makes the sandwich.  I found several recipes for Muffaletta.  Some had chopped carrots, chopped cauliflower, red onions and/or anchovies, but they all shared the important olive salad!

Make this sandwich for a Superbowl party, sit back and relax! Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!

Olive Salad

1¼ c... Green olives with pimientos (chopped)

1¼ c... Pitted Kalamata olives (chopped)

½ c..... Cocktail onions (chopped)

4 Tbs. Capers

1 c...... Celery heart with leaves (chopped)

½ tsp.. Fresh ground black pepper

2 Tbs. Fresh garlic (chopped)

1 Tbs. Fresh oregano (chopped)

¼ c..... Fresh parsley

¼ c..... Olive oil

4 Tbs. Red wine Vinegar

Sandwich (will feed 1-4 people)

1 ea... 10” Round focaccia or Italian bread

4.5 oz Genoa salami

4.5 oz Ham

4.5 oz Provolone cheese 

1 c...... Olive salad 

1.      Mix salad ingredients together and refrigerate overnight.

2.      Pile on salami, ham, cheese and olive salad.

3.      Cut into fourths and enjoy.