recipe Rocoto Jambalaya

[Siv]

My buddy had a crawfish boil last weekend and being vegan I decided to make some Jambalaya so that I would have something to eat. After watching a bunch of recipes for ideas, I combined some together and ended up with a jambalaya that my wife ate most of before we even got to my friend's place. It turned out so good that I have to make a record for posterity. I cooked this in a cast iron Dutch Oven.

We start with the mirepoix/holy trinity:

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped rocoto (instead of the traditional bell pepper)
• 1 tbs oil

Fry on high heat in 1 tbs oil until you get some good browning.

• Add 1 tbs minced garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
• Add 1 cup of washed, drained rice and 1 tbs "Slap Ya Mama" cajun seasoning and fry for a minute.
• Add 2 cups of veg stock and scrape the pot to dissolve all the browned goodness stuck to the bottom.
• Add 1 cup of chopped sausage and chopped shrimp balls (I pan fried these both separately before adding since the vegan versions aren't that robust and would disintegrate if I tried to fry with the other stuff). If you're using real sausages, you can add to the pot and fry them before adding the garlic.
• Add 1 cup of chopped tomato

Cover, turn heat to low and leave for 25 minutes without opening the lid. After 25 minutes, check the rice to see if it's cooked - if it's not quite done, turn the heat off and replace the lid and let it sit for 20 mins to continue steaming. A lot will depend on the type of rice you use - I used a short grain red rice which takes a little longer than long grain white rice.

This is so tasty that my normally chilli shy wife devoured it with abandon. The heat is perfect - it lingers but not unbearable. This recipe makes 3 healthy portions or 4 sensible ones. There was just enough left for me to take some to my buddies place and he loved it also.

Since I hardly got to eat any, I made a double batch on Sunday! I didn't have any fresh tomatoes left so I used a can of dice and I chopped the shrimp balls up to be less bulky. I just doubled all the quantities above. Same great taste - this is definitely coming into my regular meal rotation although I would like to experiment by adding some more vegetables to make it a bit more nutritious.

 

[skullbiker]

That looks awesome! I already have visions of my modifications(I am NOT vegan).

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Thanks for the recipe! Might give it a whirl.

 

[Siv]

I was very surprised how great a flavour I got just from the rocoto, stock and seasoning. A lot of recipes I saw added soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and/or vinegar at the end but I tasted and didn't need any of that. And no salt either - I guess there's plenty in the Slap Ya Mama. I think the rocoto is the magic ingredient.

I used the impossible sausage and All Vegetarian brand vegan shrimp balls. I guess the traditional recipe would use some combination of andouille sausage, chicken and shrimp. My cajun buddy makes one with wild duck and chicken stock or does one with crab, crawfish and shrimp.

 

[Daxtondolan]

I did something similar last summer when my friend had a BBQ. As a vegan, I made a hearty vegetable stew with loads of fresh produce from the farmers' market. I used a mix of root veggies, beans, and a bunch of herbs, and cooked it in my cast iron Dutch Oven too. My partner ended up loving it so much that we almost didn't have any left by the time we got to the BBQ! It's amazing how experimenting with natural foods can lead to such tasty and satisfying dishes. Your jambalaya sounds like it was a big hit – I might need to give it a try with the rocoto twist!