A great Louisiana classic, hearty and fragrant, where rice, chicken, smoked sausage, shrimp, and tomatoes cook together in a spiced broth. The result is tender, smoky, slightly spicy, and deeply comforting.
Ingredients
- 450 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 250 g smoked sausage like Montbéliard
- 300 g raw peeled shrimp
- 300 g long-grain white rice
- 1 piece yellow onion
- 1 piece green bell pepper
- 2 pieces celery stalk
- 3 cloves garlic
- 400 g canned crushed tomatoes
- 650 ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp Cajun spice blend
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp hot sauce like Tabasco
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- 0.5 bunches flat-leaf parsley
- 2 pieces scallions
Method
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, slice the smoked sausage, dice the onion, green bell pepper, and celery, then mince the garlic; keep the shrimp chilled until ready to add.
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, then brown the chicken until the edges are nicely colored and the bottom of the pot starts to catch slightly.
- Add the smoked sausage and let it sauté until it flavors the oil and turns golden brown; remove excess fat only if there is a lot of it.
- Add the onion, green bell pepper, and celery, then sweat them while scraping the bottom of the pot until the vegetables become tender and slightly glossy.
- Stir in the garlic, Cajun blend, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper; stir until the spices smell warm and toasted without burning.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce, then let it reduce until the mixture thickens and coats the meat.
- Add the rice and stir to coat it in the sauce, then pour in the hot chicken stock; bring to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice is mostly tender and the liquid is largely absorbed.
- Place the shrimp on top of the rice, cover again, and continue cooking until they turn pink and opaque, then let it rest off the heat to finish tenderizing the rice.
- Remove the bay leaf, fluff gently with a fork, adjust the seasoning, then serve hot with chopped flat-leaf parsley and thinly sliced scallions.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 851.3 kcal
- Protein
- 62.05 g
- Carbohydrate
- 71.48 g
- Fat
- 34.09 g
- Fibre
- 5.37 g
- Calcium
- 121.75 mg
- Iron
- 4.61 mg
- Magnesium
- 71.99 mg
