Recipe from Unsealed 4X4.Words & photos: Sam Rees-Jones.
We thought we’d look beyond our shores for this Outback Gourmet recipe and so we bring you Jambalaya, which originated in southern Louisiana and can be cooked up in a camp oven.
We’re sure you’re going to love this Outback Gourmet recipe for a one-pot wonder called Jambalaya, a dish that originated in southern Louisiana with the Cajuns. By blending French, African, Spanish and American influences it incorporates seafood, ham, spicy sausage rounds and chicken… although it doesn’t have to have all those ingredients. You can use whatever you have in your tucker box; just be sure you make enough for lunch the next day!
To add a bit of fun to our camping trips, every now and then we choose a meal from a different country, then the kids will make some of the appropriate flags to dress the table – making it feel a bit more authentic. If we are on a short trip we will even pack a few props and clothes to dress up to ‘take us there’. While this versatile dish is a favourite of ours, as it has so many origins we gave up trying to play the ethnic game. Anyway, here’s how to whip up Jambalaya…
JAMBALAYA INCORPORATES SEAFOOD, HAM, SPICY SAUSAGE ROUNDS AND CHICKEN… ALTHOUGH IT DOESN’T HAVE TO HAVE ALL THOSE INGREDIENTS.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil2 garlic cloves, crushed1 onion, chopped1 red capsicum, seeds removed, diced1 green capsicum, seeds removed, diced200g uncooked white long-grain rice1 1⁄2 cups chicken-style liquid stock150g chorizo, sliced500g boneless chicken pieces… or 500g green prawns, peeled, de-veined, tails intact3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley6 shallots (spring onions), sliced500ml canned crushed tomatoes (optional)1/4 tsp Cajun spice (more if you like it spicy)1 tsp sweet smoked paprika1 tsp ground cumin2 bay leavesSalt, to season
Method
Get your fire going.
Heat the oil in the camp oven and fry chorizo and chicken thighs until golden on both sides.
Take the chorizo and chicken thighs out and put aside. Make sure you cover them so no hungry people or kookaburras try to steal any.
Leave the oil from the chorizo and chicken in the camp oven.
Add the garlic, spices, onion and capsicum to the camp oven and cook for three minutes.
Return the chorizo and chicken to the pan and stir in the rice, bay leaves, canned tomato and stock.
Season well.
Bring to the boil, cover and move to the side of the fire.
Check after 20 minutes to see if you need to add some more stock.
If you are adding prawns, now is the time; then cover and cook for a further five minutes.
Add the parsley and stir well.
Place in serving bowls and garnish with shallots.
It might stick a bit on the bottom, but those crispy bits are the best!
