Joseph's Paleo Gumbo Jambalaya

OK, how can it be both gumbo and jambalaya? Simple: since gumbo derives its name from ngumbo, the Bantu word for okra, simply add okra to your jambalaya. Voila! (Which I pronounce VOY-la.)

I started with Emeril Lagasse’s recipe for Cajun jambalaya (which can be easily found via your favorite internet search) but I tend to use a bit more meat than he does and of course, to make it Paleo I use cauliflower rice rather than the grain. I also prefer Pickapeppa Sauce to the Worcestershire that he uses.

I was surprised to see that my Cajun blackening spice mixture contained the same ingredients as his “Bayou Blast” seasonings, just in different proportions. I’ve appended mine.

Ingredients

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
1 large chicken breast (about 8 ounces), diced
1 ½ tablespoon Cajun seasoning, recipe follows
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
2 chopped Roma tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Pickapeppa Sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I prefer Cholula)
1 small head of cauliflower, riced in food processor
1 cup chicken broth
1 Andouille sausage (about 7 ounces), sliced
1 lb fresh or one 16 oz bag of frozen chopped okra
1 tsp salt and pepper or better yet, Pepperman

Joseph’s Cajun Blackening Spices

4 tsp sea salt
5 tsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garlic powder       
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground dried oregano
1 tsp ground dried thyme

Directions
In a bowl combine shrimp, chicken and Cajun seasoning, work in seasoning well and set aside.

In a large saucepan, brown the Andouille on both sides, remove from pan and set aside. This step isn't really necessary, I just prefer my sausage browned.

Heat oil in the pan over high heat with onion, pepper and celery (the “Holy Trinity” of Cajun cooking) for about 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Pickapeppa Sauce, hot sauce, and salt & pepper/Pepperman. Stir in cauliflower and broth. Reduce heat to medium, cook about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the okra. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until cauliflower becomes tender, another 5 or 10 minutes.

Add the shrimp/chicken mixture and the sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10-15 minutes more.

Kielbasa and Kraut Medley

Another oldie but goodie...

KIELBASA & KRAUT MEDLEY

Joseph fixed dinner last night, while I curled up by the chiminea he got for me, reading a new Kelly Armstrong book by a warm, crackling fire...is life good, or what?!  He chatted with an old friend on the phone as he cooked, then when he brought the plates out by the fire, told me he'd taken photos, just as I've been doing for the new shared food blog.

Hooray!  I said "then you can write it up for Starving Artists?"--and lo, he did, and you'll find it below!  This is one of my favorite cool-weather dinners, hearty and somewhat German in flavor, savory with meat and onions and fruit...YUM. 

Somehow, eaten by the fire on a lovely November evening, cooked by my love, it tasted even better than I remembered!

Kielbasa & Kraut Medley

4 6-8” kielbasa (about 2 lbs)
2 C sauerkraut
4 small apples (Jonathans are good), cored and sliced
1 large onion, quartered and sliced
Olive oil, coconut oil, or bacon grease.

Brown the kielbasa well in a little bit of oil or grease.  Remove from pan, add onion and cook until glazed.  Add apples and cook until slightly browned.  If you’re drinking beer or hard cider while cooking, you can add a little of that.  Add kielbasa and kraut.  Stir up well, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Serves six--or makes wonderful leftovers!

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(Of course I have to nib in and add my thoughts on this...)

You  can use turkey kielbasa (or smoked sausage) if you're watching your fat intake--tastes great anyway--and tart apples are definitely marvelous in it.  (This isn't the place for sweet, bland, mealy apples that fall apart when cooked!  You want that tart-sweet flavor.  We like to buy local Jonathans, as  mentions, organically grown if possible.) 

I like sweet Bavarian sauerkraut in this, the kind with caraway seeds, if I haven't made my own--and that I haven't done in a lot of years!  The above illustration was painted 30 years ago, from a batch of my own home-canned Bavarian-style stuff--it still hangs in my kitchen today, a lovely reminder of those years.  (It's gouache and sepia ink on a warm tan matboard background.)

Making sauerkraut is dead easy, as far as the process goes, but it can be a tad tricky.  The right temperature range and careful cleanliness are needed to insure proper fermentation. 

When my late husband and I lived on our little back-to-the-land farm and I canned mountains of stuff from our own organic garden, I made some of the best and worst I've ever tasted--and one memorable batch that was in the root cellar when it flooded, and came out smelling of kerosene from the lantern that decided to float.  Needless to say, that batch didn't get tasted--it didn't even make compost!  Ewwwww...

According to The Joy of Cooking--still my favorite cookbook!--sauerkraut's healthful qualities were recognized as early as 200 B.C. when workers on got a daily ration as they worked on the Great Wall of China.  It appears it was first mentioned in America in 1776, and as expected, it was primarily eaten in German communities.  (Sauerkraut literally means "sour cabbage," in German.)

I couldn't find my old recipe--it was NOT in The Joy--but this site comes close: http://www.kitchenproject.com/kpboard/recipes/HOMEADESAUERKRAUT.htm

Remember, sauerkraut gets milder with cooking--in the wonderful dish above, it just adds a lovely tang.  If you think you hate sauerkraut, you may find differently when you try this recipe!

We hope you enjoy this hearty dish as much as we did--great with hard cider or a rich lager like Sam Adams, too...