Chicken Shamblaya
31 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
My culinary triumph of last week! Thought I’d write it up for general posterity and such.
I used the following (you can use pretty much anything you like in this – it’s a great way to use up your veg. The one I’m doing next has broccoli and carrot in it, ooooooh):
- two large chicken breasts (skinless/boneless), cut into small chunks
- half a chorizo sausage, sliced and cubed
- two deli tub-fuls of prawns
- two 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves
- one red pepper and one green, sliced
- a large red onion, finely chopped
- a large handful of sugarsnap peas
- a mugful of frozen garden peas
- a pint of chicken stock (or bouillon)
- seasoning
- a spice the Germans call ‘Haanchen-Salz’ which is basically a cajun spice
- a pinch of chili (I used dried flakes, but you can use powder, or fresh chili peppers, and add as much as you prefer)
- olive oil
- a decent mugful of wild rice
First, I heated oil in a large frying pan and browned the chorizo, then removed it. The chicken went in next with some more oil until cooked through; then I removed that and put it with the chorizo.
I added a little bit more oil, then browned the onions, and put the chicken and chorizo back in the pan. Tossed these about for a few minutes, then tipped in the garlic, peppers, sugarsnaps and peas, and also added the prawns.
I fried all this together for a few minutes, until the veg began to brown a little, adding oil as I went if it looked a little parched. Then I poured the (uncooked!) rice in with it, stirred it about to make sure it got a good coating of oil from the pan, then added the chopped tomatoes. I prepared the stock whilst everything was frying so it is nicely hot, then add that in a little gradually to make sure the rice was all submerged, but also that I wasn’t slopping it all over the side (it’s something I’d do). At this point I added my spices – I generally went by taste and smell on this, but was fairly generous with the Haanchen-Salz. I seasoned it, then basically left it to boil.
Give it a while to boil and reduce down – it will, and makes the sauce really rich and nommable. Stir every so often, to make sure the rice is still all in the liquid. The shambalaya is basically ready when the rice is cooked and the whole mixture is less soup-y and more stew-y.
I served it all up in bowls (for some reason eating from bowls makes food even better) with a bottle of fruity wine (white or rose is always a good bet!) Yummy!
