The jumbo shrimp is the star of the show in this easy and delicious one pot seafood jambalaya.
Do you know the real meaning of Mardi Gras? I actually never knew the significance so I decided to do some research. According to Americaslibrary.gov, every year, the people of New Orleans celebrate Mardi Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday.” This holiday is the day before Ash Wednesday, and it begins a season of fasting, called Lent, for many Christians leading up to Easter Sunday. It’s called Fat Tuesday because it’s the last day that many people eat meat and fatty foods before Lent begins.
When cakebreadcellar, a top-tier, family owned vineyard in Napa Valley, asked me to make my seafood jambalaya recipe as a perfect pairing to their chardonnay in celebration of Mardi Gras I was so excited!
I’ve made jambalaya before but I usually use chicken as the base. I switched things up when developing this recipe and instead used andouille sausage as the base and used shrimp and crab as my seafood choice (I highly recommend this combo). The flavor of this jambalaya is out of this world! I love how smokey the sausage made the dish and the cajun seasoning gave it just the right amount of heat. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and you could taste the crab flavor with every bite.
If you’re interested in celebrating Mardi Gras this year then try my seafood jambalaya brought to you by my friends over at cakebreadcellars. The chardonnay paired perfectly and complimented the smoky, cajun seafood flavor of the jambalaya. Grab a couple bottles of the chardonnay at your local store, available in wine shops nationwide.
Seafood Jambalaya
The jumbo shrimp is the star of the show in this easy and delicious one pot seafood jambalaya.
Ingredients
- 1 lb sliced Andouille sausage
- 1 lb Jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 8 oz of Jumbo lump crab meat
- 1/2 cup of celery, diced finely
- 1 small white onion onion, diced finely
- 1/2 a red onion, diced finely
- 1 small green bell pepper, diced finely
- 1 small yellow bell pepper, diced finely
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups of long grain jasmine rice
- 1 3/4 cups of seafood broth
- 1 tbsp of Seafood seasoning
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Worcheshire sauce
- 1 tbsp of olive oil to saute sausage
- Freshly chopped parsley and sliced scallion to serve
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom dutch oven, add olive oil and bring to medium heat
- Once the oil is glossy and hot, add sliced andouille sausage to the pot and brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side
- Once the sausage is brown and fragrant, remove from the pot and set aside in a bowl
- Remove any excess oil from the sausage leaving about a tbsp of oil
- Reduce the heat to medium and saute the bell peppers, onion, and celery until translucent, about 4 minutes. Continue to stir to ensure the veggies don't brown
- Once the vegetables are fragrant and translucent, add garlic paste and tomato paste, stir to incorporate
- Next, add the washed rice to the veggie mixture and mix well to incorporate and allow it to toast for 30 seconds, while the rice is toasting season with salt, pepper, seafood seasoning, cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, onion powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning
- To the rice and veggies, add crushed tomatoes and seafood broth and worcheshire sauce, Mix well to combine and taste broth for salt and adjust accordingly, this is the last time you'll be able to adjust the flavor
- Add the sausage back to the rice and stir, cover with a tight fitting lid and reduce the heat to medium low and allow the rice to cook until about 75% done
- After about 25 minutes the majority of the liquid has evaporated from the rice but it will still have a wet looking texture because it needs about another 5 minutes to steam
- At this point, add your shrimp and crab meat to the rice and give everything another sprinkling of cajun seasoning, fold to combine (ensure you're folding from the bottom of the pot to the top because the bottom of the rice will start to stick because of the crushed tomatoes, don't worry, those crispy bits are to die for!)
- Once you have mixed the seafood in and seasoned again, cover and allow the shrimp and crab to cook for 5 minutes
- The shrimp is done when they turn pink an are no longer translucent
- After 5 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove, because you're using a cast iron dutch pot it will retain heat and the dish will keep cooking if you leave it on the stove, you don't want to overcook your seafood.
- Remove from the stove and serve warm with fresh parsley and sliced green onions
Notes
1. This dish can use any combination of seafood you desire, scallops would be great and any white fish like halibut would also work in place of the shrimp and crab
2. You can also use chicken instead of sausage, your choice
3. The heat control is the most important element of this dish, cooking this too fast will leave you with undercooked rice and cooking it too low will give you a soupy mess, pay attention to how the rice is cooking throughout the process and adjust your heat accordingly
4. Using the correct pot also helps in achieving a great result, I find that using a dutch oven pot is best for this method
This post is brought to your by our partners, Cakebread Cellars #sponsored
Can’t wait to try this. I really would love for you to start a YouTube!
Thanks again for helping with meals for my family.
Chelsea
Author
Thanks, Chelsea! I have a youtube, just search “Asiliglamcooks” Thanks again 🙂
What is seafood broth?