JA p100-123 Louisiana.indd 114
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designer John H / RH production controller publication month spine width 33.5mm finish special colours foil reference Kurz Luxor spot varnish
420 gold
emboss inside cover printing Photoshop image Yes files included use images from No previous title if yes, ISBN: ..................... SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO REPRO
FINISHES AS PREVIOUS BLAD
ISBN 978-0-718-15476-9
www.jamieoliver.com 9 780718 154769
photography: david loftus
JA Jacket MJ V2 Final.indd 1
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03/07/2009 02:19
JA p076-099 Louisiana.indd 86
19/6/09 22:22:17
Jambalaya is a French word that means ‘jumbled’ or ‘mixed up’, and I have no doubt that the philosophy and heart of this recipe come from a similar place to paella, kedgeree and risotto. Originally, any Louisiana ‘critter’ unlucky enough to get caught would have gone into this: rabbit, duck, squirrel, frog, alligator . . . you name it! And similarly, you can adapt it to whatever your local butcher or fishmonger happens to have. Go cheaper by using things like frozen prawns and chicken livers, or more expensive by including lobster or crab. I used an incredible local smoked sausage called andouille, but fresh chorizo or any other smoked sausage would work just as well. This dish makes me happy every time I eat it. And if more people than expected turn up for dinner just add a bit of extra rice.
Serves 8–10 Season the chicken with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Pour a couple of lugs of oil into a large casserole type pan and brown the chicken pieces and sliced sausage over a medium heat. After 5 minutes, once nicely browned on all sides, add your onion, peppers and celery as well as your bay, thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir, then fry on a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes stirring every now and again. It’s important to control the heat of the pan: you don’t want it to be so slow nothing’s happening, or so fast that things are catching and burning. You want a steady, solid heat. Once the veg have softened, add your garlic and chillies, stir around for a minute, then stir in the tinned tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring everything to the boil, then turn the heat down, pop the lid on the pan and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. When you can pull the meat off the bone and shred it easily the chicken’s ready. Feel free to remove the chicken bones at this point if you like, then add your rice. Give it all a good stir, then put the lid on. Give it a stir every few minutes, scraping the goodness off the bottom of the pan as you go. Let it cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is perfectly cooked. Stir in the prawns and if it needs it, add enough water to make it a kind of porridgey consistency (look at the pictures). Pop the lid back on and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes while you chop your parsley. Stir the parsley through and serve on a lovely big platter. I absolutely love this with a lemony green salad.
4 chicken thighs, skin on, preferably free-range or organic 4 chicken drumsticks, skin on, preferably free-range or organic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper cayenne pepper olive oil 300g smoked sausage, such as andouille or fresh chorizo, skin removed, cut into 1cm thick slices 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped 1 green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped 1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped 4 sticks of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped 4 fresh bay leaves 4 sprigs of fresh thyme 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced 1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 1.5 litres chicken stock, preferably organic 700g long-grain rice 16–20 raw king prawns, peeled and deveined a handful of fresh curly parsley Wine suggestion: American Pinot Noir – try one from Oregon
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In the UK we love our bangers and mash, don’t we, and you’ll find that this dish is fairly similar but with rice and Louisiana gravy. It pushes similar buttons, and it has the added advantage of extra spices, and it also reminds me of a kinda Italian peperonata. But, let’s be honest, beautiful sausages in a lovely stew are a winning combo in any country. In the spirit of Cajun cooking, this is a simple one-pan dish, perfect whether you’re at home or cooking outdoors. Give this a try and you’ll love it.
Serves 6 Put a splash of olive oil in a pan and let it get hot. Add your sausages and let them cook away so they brown nicely on all sides. Once golden and crisp, take them out of the pan and put them on a plate to rest. Depending on your sausages, there may be a lot of fat left behind in the pan. You only want to keep about 4 tablespoons of it in the pan, so carefully pour any extra away. If you don’t have enough, just add a splash more olive oil. Add your onion, peppers and celery to the fat and fry on a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir in your garlic, chilli, thyme and spices and fry for another minute or two. Stir in your flour and vinegar, and after a couple of minutes add your browned sausages, chicken stock and tinned tomatoes, using a wooden spoon to break them up a little. Season with a nice big pinch of salt and pepper, stir, then bring to the boil and let it tick away for 15 minutes or so until you have a thick and delicious gravy. Serve with a hearty spoonful of rice on the side and sprinkle over some sliced spring onion, chopped parsley and any reserved celery leaves. Really tasty stuff! PS: I’ve also stirred chopped up pieces of cooked chicken, quail and smoky bacon through this with great results!
olive oil good-quality sausages (about 2 or 3 per person) 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped 1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped 1 green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped, yellow leaves reserved 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped 1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 10 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked 1 heaped teaspoon paprika 1 heaped teaspoon cayenne pepper 2–3 heaped tablespoons plain flour 1 tablespoon white wine or cider vinegar 750ml chicken stock, preferably organic 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes sea salt and freshly ground black pepper cooked long-grain rice, to serve 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced a small bunch of fresh curly parsley, roughly chopped Wine suggestion: Argentinian red – a Malbec from Mendoza
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JA p076-099 Louisiana.indd 99
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This is my own expression of gumbo and it’s a bit like the people of New Orleans: gregarious and out there. I loved what Leah Chase said to me when we made gumbo together: ‘Dishing up a portion of gumbo is like going fishing . . . you get what you get.’ I used beautiful blue crabs for this dish, but you can use prepared crabmeat. Make sure you make a nice dark roux and get the ‘holy trinity’ base of onions, peppers and celery really going, and you can then substitute prawns with crayfish or fish, and use any other type of cured sausage you like. It’s the principle of the dish that counts, and swapping ingredients is just fine – in fact, that’s sort of the point!
Serves 8–10 16–20 raw king prawns, preferably shell on olive oil 500g spicy cured sausage, sliced into 1cm rounds 3 litres chicken stock, preferably organic 5 heaped tablespoons plain flour 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 large green peppers, deseeded and finely chopped 3 stalks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped 5 fresh bay leaves a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce 200g okra, sliced into rounds 300g picked crabmeat, plus 4 claws (if you can get hold of them) 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes sea salt and freshly ground black pepper juice of 1 lemon a small bunch of fresh curly parsley Wine suggestion: New Zealand red – a young Pinot Noir, served lightly chilled
If you’ve got shells on your prawns, peel them and keep the heads and shells aside for your stock. Heat a large pan over a medium to high heat and add a lug of olive oil and your sliced sausages. Let them get some nice colour. While that’s happening put a large stock pot on a high heat, add another lug of olive oil and fry any prawn heads and shells for about 5 minutes. Use a rolling pin to bash them up in the pot and release all their lovely flavours, then pour in your chicken stock, bring to the boil, and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Move your cooked sausages to a plate and add the flour to the fat left behind in the pan. Turn the heat down to low and stir. You want the roux to have a semiloose, doughy consistency, so add a splash of olive oil if there isn’t a lot of fat. (You also want the roux to get really nice and dark, so have a bit of patience and keep stirring to stop it sticking. It might take around 10 minutes to get it to the right darkness. Peanut butter colour is a good starting point, but you can take it even darker if you prefer by stirring and cooking it for another 20 to 30 minutes.) After about 2 minutes, add a splash more olive oil to the roux along with the holy trinity of onion, peppers and celery. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes, then scrunch up your bay leaves to help bring out their flavours and stir these into the trinity mixture with the thyme leaves. Fry for 5 minutes, then add your garlic, cayenne, Tabasco and the okra, which will act as a brilliant thickening agent. Give it all a good stir and fry for a couple of minutes. At this point, add your stock. If you’ve got prawn shells in there, strain it through a large sieve. Stir and bring everything up to the boil. Add your crab claws, if using, and tinned tomatoes and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in your cooked sausages, peeled prawns and crabmeat, and leave on a medium heat to tick away for another 5 minutes. Have a taste and add salt and pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice if you think it needs it. Keep tasting and seasoning until it’s got some kick. Roughly chop the parsley and sprinkle into your gumbo. This is lovely served in bowls over some rice, but you can also put that wonderful big pot right in the middle of the table and let everyone go fishing. What a celebration!
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