I love jambalaya. But it takes awhile to make, and standing over a hot stove is the last thing you want to do when it’s scorching outside. It also requires sausage, which I rarely buy. I don’t really eat pork and a lot of sausages – even ones with other types of meat – tend to through some pig in there.
But when I went blueberry picking last weekend, I bought some merguez 100% lamb sausages from the farm. Gluten free. I know I can get them in Montreal but there’s something awfully quaint about buying homemade sausages from a farm (La Ferme des Petits Cailloux, by the way – organic blueberries, sour cherries and raspberries were in).
Except I’m lazy, see? Yup, it’s true. It was 6 p.m. and I was hungry. I had these sausages and leftover rice and I figured something spicy and salty sounded about right. So I skipped the green pepper-celery-onion trio base I’d normally use for jambalaya and also forewent the tomato paste (blasphemy! you say). There’s no flour or butter because I didn’t make a roux. This makes it gluten free and dairy free but also makes it much lighter.
Instead, I threw together a spice mixture like one I use for a chicken rub (multi-purpose = less effort) and sautéed just some celery in some oil and added some fresh corn. The sweetness of the corn with the salty rub and spicy lamb sausage was awesome. I threw in an extra hot red pepper for the heck of it, but you don’t have to. You could also add bite-size chicken pieces or shrimp (add any seafood right at the end and just cook it through).
And if you don’t have all the spices, who cares? Use what you’ve got. Just no mint or anything funny, okay? Paprika and salt are the keys; the rest can be varied.
Quick Quick Jambalaya
Serves 3-4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
3 small merguez or lamb sausages, cut in thick coins, or casings removed and sliced if you prefer
1 tsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
~1 cup chopped celery and/or onion and/or green pepper and/or carrots
1 hot red pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cups leftover rice
1/4 cup water
1-2 heads fresh corn, scraped from the cob or frozen (about 1/2 cup to 1 cup if frozen)
Spice blend:
1 1/2 tbsp hot or sweet paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp salt (less if the sausages are really salty)
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the lamb and cook until no longer pink, about 2-3 minutes. Remove excess fat if desired, then add the garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds. Add the celery, onion, green pepper, carrots and red pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the spice blend and cook for 30 seconds, then stir in the rice and water. Stir well to coat rice in spices and absorb water, then add the corn and stir through. If using frozen, cook an extra minute or two. Eat immediately – well, once it cools a little, I guess. And let some rice stick to the bottom of the skillet if it’s cast-iron, so you can scrape off the crispy crust for round two, aka seconds.
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