Fetty’s Jambalaya

Winter is back with Mother Nature forcing her will upon the citizens of the Mother City, Cape Town so The Klutz in the Kitchen has been tasked with finding an appropriate recipe for today. Here is the result of his endeavours; I hope you approve of this yummolicious dish, Fetty’s Jambalaya, which is a mixture of African and Spanish influences with heavily seasoned rice for that extra “homely” taste. It takes some time to cook in a slow cooker, but the end result is well worth it. It’s very a moreish dinner, so don’t invite to many friends to share in the meal or double up the recipe to be sure that all get a second helping. Have fun in the kitchen. Bon Appetite.

Fetty’s Jambalaya

Preparation time: 20 min

Cooking time: 5h

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 Tbs 
olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 tsp 
garlic paste

3 bay leaves

300g Chicken breasts, cut into cubes

200g
 Smoked pork sausages, sliced (about 2cm thick)

2½
 tsps 
dried oregano

1 
tsp 
paprika

1 
tsp 
garlic powder

½
tsp 
salt

½ tsp 
dried thyme

¼ tsp 
onion powder

¼ tsp 
cayenne pepper

¼ tsp 
freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp 
hot chilli flakes (optional)

1 
tsp 
Worcestershire sauce

1 
tsp 
Tabasco sauce

1 

can chopped tomatoes

1 
cup 
long grain rice, rinsed to remove starch

2½ cups 
chicken stock

15
 Fresh prawns, deveined, peeled and cooked

Method

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions, green pepper and celery.

When the onions are translucent (about 3 to 5 minutes) add the garlic paste and bay leaf, cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Add the chicken and smoked sausage to the pan and fry on a medium heat until well browned.

Stir in the oregano, paprika, garlic powder, salt, dried thyme, onion powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and chilli flakes (if using), Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and cook for 1 minute, careful not to burn the spices.

Add the contents of the pan to the bowl of a slow cooker.

Add all of the chopped tomatoes, rice and chicken stock and mix all the ingredients together.

Turn the slow cooker to medium and fix the lid, cook for 4 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally (If your slow cooker only has low and high settings cook for 6 to 8 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high).

If the Jambalaya becomes too dry add ½ a cup of water at a time and stir well to prevent the base from burning.

The rice should be cooked through and the chicken and sausage tender.

Add the cooked prawns, stir through and cook until they’re warm (about 10 minutes).

Serve immediately with crusty bread and a green salad on the side.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Damian Ettish.