Jambalaya

This food was MADE for me. It combines all of my favourite things; sticky rice, meaty spiced chorizo and crunchy scallions. I would not be sad if I could just eat this every day for the rest of my life. I think of it as the Cajun/Creole version of another one-pot rice favourite of mine: veggie pilaf.

So, apparently there's a few schools of thought on jambalaya, but it basically comes down to whether you include tomatoes, or not. I am no fan of tomatoes (I pick them out of EVERYTHING) but using passata is perfect for me, enough silky tomatoey flavour without any of the horrific texture issues.

There is something about this kind of all-in-one-pot meal which is irresistible to me. It’s comforting, all the flavour stays really packed in, and best of all: hardly any clean-up! I spend a significant proportion of my cooking time stirring a pot of meat, sauce and assorted vegetables. And I'm okay with that.

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts, sliced into two
• Salt and pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Olive oil
• 100g chorizo, chopped
• 1 onion
• 1 pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ a fresh chilli
• 150g passata
• 500ml chicken stock
• 225g longrain rice
• 4 scallions, sliced

Methods

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and cayenne seasoning. You should only need  a tsp or so of cayenne.

While that is briefly marinading, prep the veggies and chorizo.

I love prepping my stuff like this, there's an OCD part of me which this pleases.

Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a pan, and place the chicken in. Cook for a few minutes on each side until browned.

Add in the chorizo and fry for 5 minutes.

Add in the onion, pepper and thyme.

Stir and cook for a few minutes, then add in the salt, pepper, oregano and paprika.

Stir fry on medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in the garlic and chillis and stir, then add in the passata and stock.

Bring to the boil, add in the rice and stir well to evenly distribute the ingredients.

Cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the rice is cooked.

Add 3 of the scallions 5 minutes before the end. Use the other to sprinkle on top before serving.

I served with some simple salad leaves and lashings of sriracha hot sauce!