Variations on a Theme

     Any authentic New Orleans restaurant will have jambalaya on the menu.  From the venerable Antoine's (the oldest restaurant dating back to 1840) to a bar stool place like Johnny's Po'Boys you will find this classic meal served daily.  It's history predates the residents of The Crescent City and has it's origins in the Western Caribbean and is a second cousin to what we know as Spanish paella.

      Finding a singular recipe, however, is nearly impossible.  It is very flexible, depending on what is available and what is the family or cultural tradition.  It's like attempting to locate one recipe for potato salad.  Everyone has their own way of making it according to their mother's recipe. 

     I have mentioned previously of the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking.  Each style has their own version.  The English speaking Creoles incorporated tomatoes into their recipe and the result not surprisingly has been dubbed "red jambalaya."  The French speaking Cajuns omitted tomatoes and relied on browning the ingredients and adding more spices and called theirs "brown jambalaya."
    
     Both have some basic ingredients upon which they would agree: vegetables, meat and/or seafood, rice, liquid and spices.  But there is a wide range of exactly what is included in each category.  The vegetables are generally what is known in New Orleans as The Trinity, a reference to their Catholic faith and a slight departure from the French mirepoix (onion, celery, carrots) or the Italian soffritto (onion, garlic, celery).  Due to the high water table root vegetables had difficulty growing and so bell peppers were substituted in place of carrots.  There is a wide range of meats and seafood that can be included, too.  Everything from smoked or andouille sausage, ham (jamon), beef, chicken, duck, alligator, shrimp, oysters, and crawfish can be considered as a part of an authentic jambalaya recipe.  And then there are the spices...They can range from mild to hot and personalize each version.  And a debate continues on as to the best kind of rice to use, as well.  But most would advocate using a white, not brown rice, for a more fluffy and flavorful outcome.

     I attended a cooking demonstration at the New Orleans School of Cooking and took notes as our instructor/chef, Anne Leonhard, prepared her version of jambalaya.  She used chicken and sausage and recommended purchasing a mega mart rotisserie chicken already cooked and dicing up the meat in advance.  She was all about authentic but was not adverse to legitimate shortcuts.  She even was so bold as to advise us that we could use Kitchen Bouquet sauce in place of a roux if we wanted to!

Click on this recipe for one style of jambalaya and then adapt it to what is available in your pantry and refrigerator.  Red? Brown? Meat? Poultry? Seafood?  The flavor of your jambalaya is a lot like New Orleans itself...anything goes.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!