Recipe: $4.50| Per Serving: $0.90 | Yield: 5 Servings
First, let me just say that this recipe is DELICIOUS. I don't know how it came together so perfectly, but it is really really really good. My superawesome friend used to live in New Orleans and she once made some really amazing Jambalaya and I remember thinking: I could never make this. It was full of smoky New Orleans flavors and it was realllllllly delicious. I didn't try to recreate that authentic recipe, but I went with a lighter, less traditional approach. This resulting Brown Rice Jambalaya is SO SO GOOD.
Just in time to move to a country that doesn't eat sausage, I started liking sausage. Sometime around last year it became less disgusting and more delicious. I blame a combination of Nom Nom Paleo's sausage recipe and Get Fresh meals. So now I like sausage flavors, but I'm pretty sure I haven't eaten sausage since May 2014 when I made the super delicious Paleo Sausage-Pepper Egg Bake. Apparently, sausage as we know it isn't really a thing here. Instead they've got these flavored hotdogs that are really weird (Japanese people seem to LOVE hotdogs - what is that about?), and the foreign market has some brand of American sausage that I would never buy.
Lucky for me, improvisation is usually my friend in the kitchen, and sausage is no exception.
I love our breakfast sausage, and I've been experimenting with different sausage flavor combos ever since. The resulting "sausage" in this dish is not exactly sausage, because it's not cured, it's lower in salt, and it's crumbled. But there's no glamour in my kitchen anyway, so crumbled almost-sausage really fits the bill.
That being said, this recipe does say "sausage" in the title, so feel free to purchase actual sausage, like traditional Andouille, or sort-of similar Chorizo or Kielbasa. Don't alter the spices at all, but cut back on the salt by at least half.
I've happily and deliciously made this with: ground chicken, ground pork, and ground beef. They were all awesome! The pork was the richest, and I think I liked the beef the best. Serve it with some lemon-roasted zucchini, or perhaps a lemony-parmesan-basil arugula salad and you can get 5-6 servings out of this recipe. I modified this sweet recipe from Domesticate Me by changing up the spices a bit, making homemade sausage, and keeping it cheaper by adding carrots and skipping the shrimp. We served this to a friend last week and he was super in love with it. AND we've got two servings in the freezer. I CAN'T WAIT TO EAT IT.
Vegetarian: I guess you could skip the meat and add beans instead - but be sure to add extra spices!
Paleo: Nope! But I have made a similar version with double the meat and a pound of cauliflower rice and it was excellent!
Brown Rice Jambalaya with Homemade Sausage
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ground beef pork, or chicken (or a mixture)
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground fennel
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 small-medium bell pepper shredded or minced
- ½ onion minced
- 2 medium carrots shredded or minced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 can diced tomatoes feel free to use roasted
- 1 ¼ cup brown rice (I recommend short grain brown rice)
- 3 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth salt-free
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mix the meat in a bowl with the seasonings (smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, chili powder, fennel). If using a lean meat, warm one Tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Brown the sausage mixture, allowing it to get a bit dark and crunchy in some parts for extra flavor. (5-8 minutes)
- Cut up the bell pepper, onion, carrots, and garlic - I just chop/mince them in my food processor - and add to the fully cooked meat. Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes, or until they're fragrant. Add the can of tomatoes and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the brown rice and the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir well and reduce to a simmer. Simmer partially covered on medium-low heat for about 1 hour - 75 minutes, or until the water is mostly absorbed and the rice has reached a risotto-like consistency. Stir occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking to the bottom. Add the salt and adjust seasonings as necessary.
- Let rest about 5-10 minutes before serving so it can cool and firm up a bit more.
- SERVE AND SCARF!
Leave a Reply