Let’s get Shakin!!!
Here we are in the middle of Mardi Gras season and like every year, I’m getting the same questions and comments.
“I wanna make something traditional, and I wanna make something good, but it just takes too long to make, I am not an expert in the kitchen.”
Well, that’s okay. A lot of what I cook or present in my articles, and even my shows, are recipes that might not fit every box. Some are time-consuming. There are a lot of great “shortcut” recipes out there that taste great, are easy to make, and don’t take too much time.
The next recipe in our Mardi Gras series is a Creole Jambalaya that will come out perfect every time. No worries about mushy rice (or even worse crunchy rice); you don’t have a destroyed kitchen or a lot of clean-up when you are done. I like to make this dish in a disposable pan, and then you have almost no cleanup at all
Oven Creole Jambalaya
(yes, I said oven)
Ingredients
2 small mixed yellow, orange, and/or red bell peppers, cut into thin slices and slices halved crosswise
1 (12-oz.) pkg. andouille sausage, sliced
1 medium-sized yellow onion, thinly sliced (3 cups)
1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Benwood’s Surely Southern Seasoning (or any Cajun or Creole seasoning), divided
3 large scallions
12 oz jumbo peeled, deveined raw shrimp
1 (10-oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (such as Rotel), drained
2 (8.8-oz.) pkg. precooked microwavable white rice
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss together bell peppers, sausage, onion, thyme, oil, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of the Benwood’s on a 13- x 18-inch rimmed baking sheet; spread mixture in an even layer. Bake until mixture is almost tender-crisp, 15-17 minutes, stirring the mixture once halfway through cook time.
Meanwhile, thinly slice dark green parts of the scallions; set aside. Thinly slice the white and light green parts of the scallions and transfer them to a large bowl. Add shrimp, drained tomatoes, green chiles, and the remaining 1 teaspoon of Benwood’s seasoning. Using your hands, crumble rice into shrimp mixture to separate any clumps; stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Stir shrimp mixture into bell pepper on the baking sheet; return to the oven. Bake at 425°F until shrimp are pink and opaque throughout and rice is warm and tender about 9 minutes. Sprinkle with dark green parts of scallions.
Until next week, I’m Chef Hunter Lee wishing you all a festive and joyous Mardi Gras season. Remember, “treat your kitchen, treat yourself”
Benwood’s, uniquely southern, surely the best!
BenwoodsSurelySouthern.comhdc