Supper Club: Jambalaya, Pirates, and Chicken

Strangely I didn’t learn this on my recent travels in the deep south of the US. It’s based on a vegetarian version from the Café Fresh Cookbook. The chorizo and prawns make all the difference though. This is a really good dish for many reasons: it’s really warming on a cold day, it looks beautiful as it is really colourful and it’s easy to make.

We served it as the main course at a Caribbean themed supper club, while friends provided jerked chicken wings and a fruity dessert. A few kids dressed up as pirates, had a treasure hunt, and watched Pirates of the Caribbean on DVD.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 green and red pepper chopped
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp allspice or Creole seasoning
• 1 fresh red chilli, chopped
• 400 ml vegetable stock
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 175g organic brown rice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 8-12 tiger prawns shelled
• 150g chorizo, roughly chopped into cubes
• 1 tin of kidney beans
• 1 cup of frozen peas

Method

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft. Then add the peppers and celery and sauté for a further 10 minutes (this is important as the peppers give the dish its sweetness). Add the oregano, thyme, chilli, tomato puree and allspice/Creole seasoning and combine well. Saute for a further minute. Add the stock, tomatoes, rice, sea salt and bay leaves. Cover and bring to the boil then simmer for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile fry your chorizo in a separate pan for 2 minutes (a fried piece of chorizo is what I imagine a heart attack tastes like – sacrelicious). Add to the pot immediately.

About 15 minutes before the end add your prawns to the pot and allow to cook for a further ten minutes. 5 minutes from the end add the beans and peas.

Serve with beer while wearing a pointy white hat.